


For Whom the Bell Tolls

by cywscross



Category: Naruto
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Don't copy to another site, Friendship, Gen, Original Character-centric, POV First Person, Reincarnation, Self-Insert, oc-insert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-21
Updated: 2020-10-21
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:40:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 27,058
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27138811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cywscross/pseuds/cywscross
Summary: I've had a lot of crap come my way over the years – Dad ditching the family, me working three jobs to support myself and my alcoholic mom – so when I got run over by a drunk driver one day at the age of twenty, well, it wasn't as if my life was going anywhere fast anyway. Then I woke up as a baby again, taking my first breath and screaming my lungs out. I'd always been the pragmatic sort though, and there's only so much panicking you could do before you shut up and got a grip. It took me a few months of eavesdropping on the orphanage workers who took care of me, but I eventually strung enough together to realize that some higher being had dumped my ass in the Naruto world. Okay, fine, I could cope with that. But several handfuls of months later when I caught a faint glimpse of my reflection in a dirty window and recognized the shock of white hair and two short, delicate red lines extending from my eyes staring back at me? Yeah, reincarnation was a bitch.
Relationships: Hyuuga Hinata & Original Female Character(s), Jiraiya (Naruto) & Original Female Character(s), Uzumaki Naruto & Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 49
Kudos: 645





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is an old fanfic from my ffnet before I took it down, now reposted. As the tag indicates, it will not be continued.

Once upon a time, when I had been in the first stages of rebellious teen-hood, I used to rage at the hand life had dealt me. I mean, no twelve-year-old should have to listen to her parents shout at each other day in and day out, and then watch her dad drive away one morning and not come back ever again. No fourteen-year-old should have to watch her mother succumb to alcohol like it was some sort of lifeline, losing both job and purpose in a bottle. And no sixteen-year-old should have to work her ass off every day just to make sure they had enough to pay the electricity bill each month.

Of course, I eventually got over it. There was no use complaining. Life was unfair, and you could only make the most of what you had. Some people had it better, some people had it worse. I was just one of many who had it worse.

So I worked and coaxed my mom to the dinner table every night and dragged her outside for some fresh air twice a week and didn't even think about applying for university after I sped through high school and graduated a year early. It left me more time for job-hunting and more money to put away in the bank. By the time I hit twenty, I had three jobs going, relatively steady ones, and each new day was as dull and predictable as the last.

Then there had been the whole hit-and-run bit and dying, but to be honest, I didn't really remember much of that. I remembered the screech of tires and a flash of headlights, crimson blurring my eyesight, a shock of agony, and then nothing.

Until I woke up again who-knew-how-long later, sucking in what felt like oxygen made of ice, trying to form words that wouldn't quite come, and only managing a high-pitched wail as I tried to convey my discomfort.

It didn't take long to figure out that I was a baby. Duh, it was embarrassingly obvious when I had to have my diaper changed regularly and bottle-fed several times a day. After the initial oh-my-god-what-the-hell-is-happening panic, I simply calmed down and allowed myself to sleep and eat and sleep some more as my body seemed to want to do all the time.

And then, as the weeks – or months – passed and I could actually turn in my crib and take in my surroundings, I realized that I was in an orphanage and not in a home or even the hospital. I had worked in one before, in my... past life? But the place, filled with more children than adults, had made me uncomfortable and sad, not to mention the pay hadn't been enough to put dinner on the table that particular month, so I had gotten out of there as soon as I had secured another job.

Wherever I was, the orphanages were certainly the same. A bit rundown, and the one I was in was much simpler-looking, with wooden walls and wooden cribs. This was probably the place they put babies though since I couldn't see any kids older than about two years old at most.

More weeks passed and I listened with growing disbelief and then increasing resignation as I heard the workers exchange town gossip, whispering about news from the _hidden village_ , and muttering about _shinobi_ travelling through.

The first few days I had started hearing all this, I was convinced that I was either dreaming or this new world I had apparently been reborn in had also made me crazy.

Back in my old world, I had never had much free time, obviously, but a girl couldn't grow up without some form of entertainment and I did love watching anime and reading manga, thank you very much. I'd save up and stop by the local net café to steal a few hours on a computer, or linger in a bookstore until the owner kicked me out, so, needless to say, when I heard _shinobi_ and _hidden village_ , I automatically thought of _Naruto_.

I was rather intimate with that series. Perusing anime and manga was my only hobby, really the only thing I enjoyed between working in a convenience store, serving drinks in a bar, and cooking in a restaurant, and when you enjoyed something, you tended to become an avid and learned follower of it. Naruto was a rather popular series and I had liked reading and watching it in my near-nonexistent free time.

Still, what were the chances that I had died and been reborn in the Naruto universe? Before, I would've said none, but I would've said reincarnation wasn't possible either and look where I was now. So next to none then, but still highly unlikely.

Until I started hearing stuff like _Fire Country_ and _daimyo_ and even freaking _Konoha_ , and even I couldn't ignore that.

But if there was one thing I was good at, it was adapting. I've had to be, to survive. Adapt when Dad left. Adapt when Mom started drinking. Adapt when one job wasn't enough, and adapt again when two jobs weren't.

Keep calm and carry on, the British once said.

I said, calm or not, if you don't carry on, you die, so suck it up and do what you have to do.

That's worked well for me so far and I wasn't about to stop now just because I was less than six months old and stuck in an anime world.

So I accepted it. Over time, I managed to pick up enough to grasp the fact that I was actually in Fire Country but not in Konoha, just a small town nearby. And if I was already in the Naruto universe, it wasn't that big a leap to believe that Naruto and Sasuke and Akatsuki and everything else existed and the 'canon' would eventually happen one way or another.

Though there had never been a Jiraiya's-illegitimate-child in the storyline, so I was probably meant to stay out of the way.

There were also other things I discovered, like my new name, Rei – I liked it; it was short and simple – and that warm but foreign feeling in the pit of my stomach that, if put in context with the Naruto world, was probably chakra, and this actually helped me move about faster than the other toddlers. Before long, I was crawling all over the place and even taking wobbling steps before I had hit half a year old.

I was also a rather quiet baby, not fussy or wanting for attention, something that seemed to relieve quite a few of the workers there, who already had their hands full with the other children. They swiftly realized that I was smarter than your average kid, or at least smart enough not to get in trouble or make a mess when they took their eyes off me, not to mention I was very, _very_ , quick to 'potty-train' myself, so I was left alone in the nursery for the most part besides mealtimes and naptimes, something that I very much approved of.

For a while, I thought things would be alright. Sure, I was in the Naruto world, but I could grow up and, already knowing more than enough to take care of myself, I could find a job or travel a bit, sit through school before that maybe. I could even become a kunoichi, though that thought still came with a healthy dose of disbelief.

And then, one day, over two years after I had been reborn, I managed to hoist myself onto a low ledge and peer out of one of the dirty windows, wanting to know what the outside looked like, and I found myself frozen in place as my brain tried to comprehend what my eyes were taking in.

The reflection was very faint, the smudges on the window not helping, but it didn't take the eyes of a hawk to see the shock of white hair, still short but filling out nicely, as well as the delicate red line that extended from each of my eyes, about an inch in length, like carefully-applied mascara that made my eyes look almost exotic.

I had heard some of the workers remark on how I would 'grow up to be a beautiful girl', but most adults say that about babies. Now though, with all the other brown- or black-haired children around, all with brown or black eyes, maybe the odd redhead or a pair of green eyes, my white hair and grey eyes with their red markings stood out like a beacon in the middle of the night.

And you would have to be either a civilian in a small town like the one I was in or frog spawn at the bottom of a pond to not be able to point out who my father was with one glance.

Oddly enough, my first thought was, _'I always thought those red lines were face paint.'_ My second thought was, _'Damn, I hope they don't run all the way down my face when I grow up.'_

Yeah, I had bizarre priorities.

It wasn't really until now that I thought about parents in general though. I was in an orphanage, enough said.

My mom, my first mom, was probably drinking herself into oblivion, and while I felt sorry for her, and a little guilty for leaving her all alone, there was also a rush of relief accompanying the regret. Taking care of her was no longer my responsibility. Even before my bastard of a dad had walked out on us, I had more or less raised myself because my parents were either too busy working, too busy yelling at each other, or too busy trying to one-up each other when attempting to take care of me.

I suppose a part of me loved her, but I resented her too, and really, I was dead and in my next life – there was no point weeping over it. As for my dad, I hadn't thought about him since he had left.

(A voice at the back of my mind called bullshit but it was easily ignored.)

Now though, with what I knew of Jiraiya's... extracurricular activities, it was doubtful that he even knew he now had a daughter. The pervert didn't have any children in the anime so some twisted god from above must have pulled a string or something, made him careless, and – ta-da! – I was conceived.

Or maybe Jiraiya had just been careless, period.

Wonderful.

My new mother was probably a prostitute from some brothel. I had been too busy trying to breathe, having a mini panic attack, and screaming at the top of my lungs when I had been born into this world to really concentrate on what was happening that first week. I remembered being moved around a lot but I couldn't recall anything of my mom's face.

The very next day, I sought out one of the matrons there and enquired, "Who was my mother?"

I had been able to talk since before I was one, and after giving half the orphanage workers semi-strokes with my supposed prodigal skill, they had all accepted the fact that they were apparently raising a genius, which really just meant that they had one less kid to take care of. They were good enough to give me books to read though, and not just children's stories, thank god.

The matron frowned down at me as she bathed one of the other toddlers and tried to come up with an answer to my question at the same time.

"She was a very beautiful woman," The matron finally said in a careful manner. "She... entertained people for a living. She died at childbirth though, which is why you're here."

Which was just another way of saying that my mother had been a whore at the local red-light district so I didn't bother asking her who my father was. It was doubtful she even knew. Heck, I'd probably have been shipped off to Konoha at the earliest opportunity if any of these people had known I was the Toad Sage's daughter. Most people knew Jiraiya by name, but only shinobi in ninja circles could put a face to the same man.

It also explained how I could pick up the usage of chakra so easily. Jiraiya might have been a pervert but the man wasn't called a Sannin for no reason. I remembered, from the episodes I watched and the comics I read, most of the seals of various jutsus, though I didn't dare try them at _two_ years of age without even reading any scrolls. If I was his daughter, and I was, then at least some of his genes would've passed down to me.

Dear god, I hope I didn't get his perverted genes too.

In the end, being Jiraiya's daughter didn't mean shit. I was still Rei – Tsukino Rei, the matron had looked up for me; my mother, Tsukino Mai, had been one of the lucky few who had had an actual last name to call her own – and I was still the genius orphan born in the small, dusty town of Kosai several dozen miles west of Konoha, who stayed out of the adults' way and went through books faster than the workers could get them for me.

Deep down, perhaps I felt a touch of hurt and a shadow of resentment that, even in this life, I had no father to depend on, but that was firmly tucked away and disregarded as well. I had never needed a father, or a mother for that matter, and I might have been two in body but I was already twenty in mind. What did it matter that I had no parents here? Even if my mother was alive, she'd hardly be in any position to take care of me, and I knew all about lousy fathers.

Don't get me wrong – I've always thought Jiraiya to be a fine character. His antics at the hot springs and bathhouses were mostly funny, he was a kickass ninja, and his death at the hands of the Six Paths had made me want to shoot something, but I doubted that the Sannin would be all that great in childcare.

Then again, he _had_ sort of raised Namikaze Minato, along with the two other kids on the Yondaime's Genin team, and Nagato hadn't really gone off the deep end until Yahiko had been killed. Konan had just been following Nagato, and all three of them had been reasonably sane when they had been under Jiraiya's supervision.

And then there was Naruto of course, who had been as safe as he could possibly be in his godfather's care.

Okay, so Jiraiya might know a thing or two about children. That didn't mean that I needed him. At all. I was twenty in mind, for God's sake; twenty-two if you counted the two extra years in this life. I didn't _need_ him, and things that I didn't need were usually locked away into an obscure corner of my mind, never to be thought of unless it was in times of extreme nostalgia, which I never had anyway.

So the years passed, and I spent my time reading anything I could get my hands on and even helping out around the orphanage when the workers looked like they were in need of some rest. I was soon known as the orphanage's angel, simply because I could help them with changing diapers and setting tables and making sure the other toddlers didn't wander out the front door or fall out a window or something stupid.

"A godsend," Some of the matrons would comment fondly, and a part of me was pleased that I was useful and the people I helped out actually _cared_ enough to thank me.

In my spare time though, I'd head out into the small backyard and work on using my chakra. I had the skill – why not apply it? I had always been of the mindset that if something could be useful, learn it, and in a world of ninja, learning how to use chakra was kind of the whole point.

It had been tough going at first, especially since it took a while before the orphanage workers could bring me some old texts and a few plain scrolls on shinobi and chakra after I had expressed an interest in them.

But once I managed to focus enough to really feel the chakra coils I had, dredging up everything I remembered from the anime and manga and soaking in what little information that the orphanage workers could bring me, I began exercising and trying to channel chakra.

I was still undecided on whether or not I would become a ninja. First of all, I'd have to leave this town and head to Konohagakure, which I couldn't see myself doing in the near future, not as a toddler anyway. And secondly, stepping foot into that village was practically equivalent to wearing a neon sign that said, 'THREE GUESSES TO WHO MY FATHER IS, AND THE FIRST TWO DON'T COUNT.'

On the other hand, ignoring the 'how I was going to get there' part, stepping foot into any other hidden village would probably be even worse. Yes, Konoha did seem to have more than their fair share of shit thrown their way, but the everyday livelihood of that place was by far the best out of all the villages across the continent – certainly better than Stone or Mist or even Suna, and I'd never liked excessive heat anyway.

The whole having to kill people bit if you're a ninja didn't bother me as much as I thought it might. I'd never been squeamish over blood, and I'd even killed a rat or two when they had gotten into our dingy apartment in my past life. Granted, killing rats and killing humans were two very different things and I'd probably feel something if and when I was faced with murdering an enemy shinobi, but I was fairly certain I could get past the issue in the end.

At the moment though, I concentrated on moulding chakra and manipulating it around leaves and small rocks. I was pleased to realize that my eidetic memory from my past life had stayed with me, so while I didn't try any actual jutsus just yet, I did go through all the hand seals that I could remember for various techniques.

By the time I turned four, I could walk up walls and trees and even across the small pond out back with no problem, much to my delight. Jiraiya had graduated from the academy at the age of six, and while I would never be able to do that, if only because I wasn't even in Konoha, I could at least work on what I was good at. I had the mentality of an adult and the same potential talent of my new father – I wasn't going to waste either.

My curiosity got the better of me a few months after my fourth birthday and I decided to try my hand at the Clone Technique. My first three attempts ended with partial copies, but my fourth was intact, though it wavered before dissipating within seconds. My fifth, sixth, and seventh went the same way, but I almost did a jig across the lawn when my eighth try ended with a perfect clone of myself. To my elation, the Transformation Technique and Body Replacement Technique came quite easily as well – E-rank jutsus were definitely not beyond my reach.

I suppose I didn't really need to point out that I never did get along very well with the other kids. While they learned to walk and play with building blocks, I wandered the streets of Kosai, poking my nose into any and all establishments I could wriggle into. I'd learned quickly that, here in this universe, children were pretty much given free rein as soon as they could walk, though most had a modicum of sense to stay near adults and not go anywhere they weren't suppose to. Other than that though, kids as young as three could be seen running around outside playing tag or hide-and-seek or whatever. Hell, I'd found out that I could walk into a store and buy groceries for the orphanage so long as I had the money for it.

Which was one of the first things I had done with the pocket money that the matrons gave me in exchange for me helping them out – shopping, that is. Even in an out-of-the-way town like Kosai, I didn't want to chance bumping into anyone who might recognize me through my looks so I was quick to buy a grey toque to cover my hair and mostly-waterproof face paint, the same shade as my skin, that covered the streaks of red extending from my eyes. I was relieved that they had only gotten a little longer, the elegant lines arching gracefully downwards and the ends just brushing my cheekbones, and neither of them seemed like they would be growing anymore than that.

I had considered using Henge to hide the lines but it would mean holding the jutsu in place constantly, not to mention other shinobi might sense it and call me out on it. Face paint that wouldn't wash off without a specific soap and a good scrub was the safer bet.

As for the toque, made of a material that wouldn't affect my hearing even when it covered my ears, I could pull it down so that it concealed everything save for some of my bangs and the last inch or so of my hair, the strands peeking out and falling neatly at mid-neck. The locks were still white since I didn't want to dye it, but it was pretty amazing what a hat and some makeup could do to hide certain resemblances.

Some of the workers at the orphanage had looked concerned the first time I had come home hiding both my hair and eye markings, one matron even going so far as to assure me that my looks were 'nothing to be ashamed of'. I had merely smiled at them and told them that I only liked the accessories and not because I disliked my appearance. A few had seemed unconvinced but they had left me to my own decisions as they had done since I had proven myself to be independently capable.

It wasn't a bad life, through and through; honestly better than at least the last eight years of my previous life when I had done nothing save work and take care of my mom. Even going to school had lost its appeal when I had had to drop all the unnecessary courses and rush through all the necessary ones before graduating.

Here though, I could do as I pleased – I was learning something new every day, and the orphanage and most of the town genuinely seemed to like me as I became known as the prodigal child Kosai had produced. I had bouts of childishness and bursts of emotion that I was never sure where they stemmed from – either from a lack of a proper childhood in my past life or the reincarnation process itself and part of my brain really was a kid.

Either way, I still helped out the orphanage whenever they needed me, but the other townspeople soon knew to ignore my age and would sometimes stop me for a chat or give me a few coins in exchange for running an errand or doing inventory in a shop. Sometimes, I was even allowed to lend a hand at some store counter since I knew how to work the cashier and calculate change. I could swear like a sailor if times called for it but knew how to be polite in everyday interaction – I _had_ worked in a bar once upon a time, and my employer would've fired me at the first opportunity if I hadn't been perfectly courteous towards the customers.

Sometimes, it quite literally paid to be smart.

Life was simple, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. However, as all things did, this too came to an end, and the new beginning that followed was something even I didn't expect.

* * *

"How would you feel about going to Konoha, Rei-chan?" Kazuki asked one night as I was helping him wash the dishes. I had just turned six a few days ago.

Kazuki was one of the workers in the orphanage whose main job was acting chef, and after discovering my 'affinity' for cooking, he often had me lending a hand in making meals, as well as passing on several recipes that I had never even thought of making. It wasn't five-star, but Kazuki could make the simplest of meals taste like heaven, and he knew a lot about food. And after knowing him for half a decade, the man had become a sort of surrogate older brother to me.

I peered up at him now, puffing my cheeks as I blew a few stray bangs from my eyes. "Konoha? Mm, I've never thought much about it."

Kazuki raised an eyebrow as he handed me a wet dish. "Really? What with all the ninja training you've been doing in the backyard, I would've thought you'd have at least considered it."

I flushed a little as I hastily dried the plate and put it aside. "Well... maybe. I haven't decided yet – whether or not I want to be a ninja."

"A lot of training for being undecided," The cook continued lightly. "You're out there every day at the crack of dawn."

I smiled sheepishly but then tacked on stoutly, "I keep saying we should get the backdoor hinges oiled. It always creaks on my way out. It's a wonder the entire building doesn't wake up every time I open it."

Kazuki chuckled and handed me another plate. I dried that one methodically even as I glanced at him with a puzzled frown. "Why? It's not like I can go to Konoha anytime soon."

Kazuki shrugged, a suddenly crafty smile playing on his lips. "Well, I wouldn't say that..."

I narrowed my eyes, instantly suspicious. "What did you do?"

Kazuki looked amused. "Don't sound like I've committed a crime, Rei-chan, and it isn't just me. Look, anybody with a pair of eyes can see that you don't really fit in here, you know?"

My hands had stilled and I stared at him with wide eyes, just a little hurt at the implication. "I- I thought I was doing a good job here. I mean, this is my home – I like it here!"

Kazuki had stopped washing the cutlery as well, drying off his hands before raising them in a placating manner. "I know you do, Rei-chan – that's not what I mean."

He paused to gather his thoughts before sighing and ushering me over to a nearby workbench. "Look, Rei-chan, I know this isn't the first time you've heard this but you're so dam- darn smart, and I'm no ninja but even I can tell that you've got talent. I mean, you've already got half a dozen of those jutsus down and you don't even have a teacher; just those basic scrolls that anyone can buy, and the ones we managed to get for you were practically falling apart. You genuinely seem to enjoy using chakra and meditating and whatnot, and you're wasting it here in Kosai. You deserve more than this life."

I turned red again. I didn't like special treatment. Just because I was smarter than your average kid didn't mean I was unique or anything. Well, besides the reincarnation thing, but nobody knew about that. "It's fine, Kazuki-san. I'm happy here."

"Yes," Kazuki agreed with another sigh. "One of the greatest mysteries in the world. Someone of your calibre should be itching to leave this backwater town."

He met my eyes again with a serious gaze. "Me and some of the others got together and talked about it. Shinobi life is dangerous – we understand that, but you obviously enjoy it so far, so we thought that the least we could do was give you a chance to continue. We sent a missive to the Hokage a few weeks ago and a reply finally came back last week. Konohagakure does take orphans in from small towns like ours sometimes if they express an interest in becoming ninja. It's an uncommon practice but it happens. Anyway, we told the Hokage about you – about your intellect and how you can take care of yourself better than some adults – and he's agreed to either place you in one of the orphanages in Konoha or set you up with a small apartment of your own. ...What do you think?"

I gaped at him. What did I think? "But- But why? I mean, I never said I wanted-"

"You didn't have to," Kazuki interrupted gently. "You may be happy here, Rei-chan, but you're also getting restless. You love learning, and Kosai's not the best place to seek knowledge. Konoha might be good for you."

I closed my mouth with a click and blinked down at my hands instead, calloused from work and hours of training. "...Don't you have to pay for the entrance fee and books and stuff to get into the Academy? I don't think the Hokage would pay for that. I have money, but not that much-"

"You don't really think we'd send you off with nothing but the clothes on your back, do you?" Kazuki admonished. "The entire town's pitching in on this one. We've collected enough money for you to buy everything you need and then some."

My head shot up. "What?! You can't do that! _They_ can't do that! They don't owe me anything!"

"We didn't coerce them into giving some money for the cause," Kazuki soothed. "They all volunteered when we asked around. Rei-chan, you've been a big help to everyone here. Heck, the ladies at the red-light district adore you, even though they normally frown on any children coming from one of their girls."

I shifted in my seat. When I was four, I had gotten curious about a real red-light district and I also wanted to know where my mother had lived, so I had snuck into the brothel and had promptly gotten caught. Apparently, while I had my father's white hair and eyes, my facial structure (and later, smile) was my mother's, and the Madam who had caught me had instantly recognized who I was.

She had been displeased at seeing me at first, and that was how I had found out that my mother had chosen to keep me instead of getting an abortion, had even been saving up so that she could leave the brothel to raise me, but had unfortunately died while giving birth to me.

My first mother would _never_ have done something like that, not the woman I was used to anyway, so the notion of someone actually wanting to keep me despite the risks was a novelty in and of itself. I had begged for a picture of her and the Madam had finally relented and dug up an old photograph of a woman with sleek black hair and enchanting blue eyes, nothing at all like me, and I had been surprised that I hadn't at least inherited her black hair, but her cheekbones and jawline were the same as what I saw in a mirror every morning. Upon closer examination, I had noticed that my hair texture took after hers instead of Jiraiya's spiky quality.

After that, somehow or other, I had become a regular, if unorthodox and for all the wrong reasons, visitor there. I knew how to charm people when I wanted to, and the other courtesans had all rapidly warmed towards me. The Madam had thrown up her hands after the fifth visit and several pouts from her girls before warning me to stay out of the way of customers and then letting me do as I pleased. It also helped that I could organize the accounting books and cash for them in exchange for stopping by.

"And they all offered some money?" I asked in a small voice. I cleared my throat and said more strongly, "I'm not a charity case, you know."

Kazuki dropped a hand on my head in a familiar gesture. I had a feeling he would've taken to ruffling my hair if I didn't wear my toque all the time. "We know that, stupid. Excuse us for wanting to see you off in the best condition possible."

He sobered again and ducked down awkwardly to my eye-level. "You know we're not kicking you out, right Rei-chan? You're welcome to stay here for as long as you want. But you're too... too _big_ for this place. You could become something great, make your own name in the world, and one day, all of us here in Kosai will be able to point to you and say, 'Look at her. She's from our little town, and she's one of the greatest ninja alive.'"

I released a shaky laugh. "Oh, I see. You're all in it for the fame then?"

Kazuki grinned back teasingly. "Definitely. I can see the money pouring in now from all the people wanting to see the great Tsukino Rei's hometown."

I snorted, shoving the cook in retaliation. "Jerk."

Kazuki laughed, wheezing a little as he literally scooted back on the bench. "Oof! Watch your strength, Midget. I'm fragile compared to one of your fists."

I rolled my eyes. I had only infused a little chakra in my hands. My chakra control didn't come as naturally as Tsunade's or even Sakura's, but it was competent, especially after all the time I had spent experimenting on how much chakra it took to dent a piece of wood and crush it. It had been hit-and-miss at first – I just hadn't been born with natural chakra control.

"I don't know," I said abruptly. "I mean, there's the survival rate to consider, first of all."

"We thought of that," Kazuki nodded ruefully. "But again, that's something for you to decide, and we're not going to try to hold you back because of it. Besides, you remember you weren't even four when you climbed the tree out back. Gave all of us collective heart attacks when we spotted you near the top!"

I couldn't help smirking. Yes, I suppose I did have something of a daredevil streak in me.

"Think about it, Rei-chan," Kazuki patted my shoulder. "You've got a few days before we have to send back a response. But remember – it's a once-in-a-lifetime chance. I doubt the Hokage would be willing to offer again."

I was shooed off to bed without finishing the dishwashing, but I probably would've broken something if I had continued. As it was, I didn't get much sleep that night.

My toque and face-paint were good enough to hide the more glaring evidence of my parentage, so that was the least of my worries.

More importantly, I had found out the date a few years back and, matching it with the anime, I was fairly certain that I would be around the same age as Naruto and the other 'Rookie Nine'. That being said, if I went to Konoha and entered the Academy, what would happen then? I had been perfectly content to live out this life without interfering, but now that this prospect had emerged, it was almost as if whatever higher being was in charge of reincarnation and fate and all that other rot that I wouldn't have given half a thought to six years ago was now painting giant arrows towards Konoha for me.

As a general rule in my past life, I had always placed my mom and me as the top priorities. I couldn't _afford_ to do anything else so I had never gone out of my way to really change something I thought was wrong. But if I slipped into the lives of the Konoha residents, I might change things for the better or I might change things for the worse.

For the better was good. For the worse was kinda bad.

It wasn't something I was good at either. I didn't do the whole getting close to people thing. I was on friendly terms with the townsfolk, and a select few – like Kazuki – I even considered friends or family, but I could count those on one hand with fingers left over, mainly because once I got close to them, it would take nothing short of divine intervention to stop me from protecting them. That was probably the main reason I had never given up on my first mom, even when she had forgotten who I was in some of her drunken episodes.

(My father didn't count – at least before he walked out on us, my mom had attempted to do motherly things for me just for the sake of being my mother. My dad, in the few times he had been fussed to take care of me, had only done it to show the public that he was the better parent.)

It was one of my more annoying personality traits but it was mine, so, knowing me, if I made any friends (not that I was much of an expert in that department), I'd probably meddle sooner or later, and that was only if I didn't change something as soon as I stepped foot in the hidden village.

On the other hand, what was life without a bit of risk? Kazuki had hit the nail on the head – I _was_ getting restless. There was only so much one could do in a small town like Kosai, and while I was content to live out my childhood here if I didn't become a shinobi, I had always planned to leave when I grew up and travel to other places.

I was in a ninja world and I had all the potential to become an accomplished ninja. A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity had dropped into my lap – who was I to throw it away?

A spark of excitement stirred in my gut. It was a dangerous profession, but I was nothing if not adaptable. In a dangerous world, there was only one solution – get strong enough to protect yourself and those you cared about.

And it was a direction, something I could dedicate myself to. I hadn't ever had that in either of my lives so far.

* * *

"Kazuki-san? I want to become a ninja."

* * *

Exactly three weeks later, after a week-long waiting period for the Sandaime's confirmation, the send-off party the town had thrown for me, the promises to come back and visit once I had become a successful kunoichi, the long ride from Kosai to Konoha, and a short meeting with the Hokage himself – the man looked _exactly_ like, well, the Sandaime; it was almost creepy – to run through a list of basic questions about my personal information, I finally found myself standing in the doorway of my new apartment.

It was nothing special, smaller even than the apartment I had once shared with my first mother. There was a bedroom, a bathroom, a kitchen, an area that held a washing machine and a dryer, and a tiny sitting room.

And it was all mine.

I could manage money better than most financiers so the first thing I did was put aside the next two months' worth of rent. The Hokage had assured me that a monthly pension for the lease and other necessities would regularly come through the mail but I liked to be prepared. Having the threat of being booted out of my own house hanging over my head was not prepared.

The rest I divided for food, clothes, and school supplies. Food and clothes were easy for now – Kosai had made sure I had enough ryou to buy proper shinobi outfits and gear, which I would have to figure out tomorrow. I was good with chakra, but I had never held a single kunai and shuriken in my life.

* * *

I settled into my new life easily enough. I now wore a mesh t-shirt under a long-sleeved light grey shirt that matched the colour of my toque, dark grey pants, and black open-toed sandals. Which meant that the only bright colour I had on me was my hair. I'd never liked reds or yellows or, god forbid, pinks before. Greens and blues were alright but I didn't like wearing them either.

The five weeks I was there before the new school term started were spent trying out my new weapons. Bluntly put, my first attempts were pathetic. I had absolutely no idea how to hold a kunai or throw a shuriken, and I was lucky if I could hit the target, much less bulls-eye.

But I had proper books and scrolls now, and figuring that having the teachers show me at the Academy how to use the weapons would be the more practical choice, I had decided to go through the reading material instead.

I kept up with my usual exercise of course, and spent the rest of the time exploring the town. It was one thing to know you were in the Naruto world while in a town that didn't show up in the canon, but it was another thing entirely to know you were in the Naruto world and see the Hokage Monument on your left or the Hokage Tower up ahead.

Sometimes, it almost felt like I was dreaming the entire thing, and wouldn't that be a fucking treat? Waking up in a hospital one day back in my old life and having some nurse tell me that I had been in a coma all this time, and then having to return to three jobs, late rent, and an alcoholic mom – yeah, I'd probably kill myself. The problem with getting a taste of something good was that going back to something bad was twice as hard as never having experienced the good in the first place.

And now I was getting cynical. Terrific.

* * *

It was pure coincidence that I didn't bump into anyone I 'knew' until a few days before I started school. Maybe a part of me had been subconsciously avoiding all the places that anybody I might recognize would hang out in.

Of course, even in a village as big as Konoha, it wasn't exactly a bustling city, so word of a new face wandering through the streets on a regular basis would get around eventually, especially when it was a lone child from a small town getting ready to enter the Academy. The gossip mill in Konoha was ridiculously well-informed.

"So you're the new girl soon to start at the Academy?"

I glanced up from the far left corner of Ichiraku Ramen where I was eating. The stand was one of the cheapest eating places around and I had already been by three times before, making sure Naruto wasn't there first of course.

Until now though, Teuchi had never attempted to talk to me before, though he was smiling kindly down at me from behind the counter now.

"Ah, yes," I nodded, not big on smiling back. "I arrived a few weeks ago. I'm Tsukino Rei."

"You can call me Teuchi," The chef said. "Welcome to Konoha."

And that was that. Over the next half hour, Teuchi would sometimes wander over for a word or two – how I was settling in, how I liked the ramen – but seemed to understand that I didn't like talking all the time as well.

And then, just as I was leaving, dropping the correct amount of coins on the table, I heard a familiar-foreign shout that made me involuntarily look up.

"Hey, Teuchi-san! One large serving of miso ramen with roasted pork fillet please!"

"Hello to you too, Naruto!" Teuchi called back with a rather fond smile as an orange blur shot past me. "One miso ramen with roasted pork fillet coming right up!"

And then, freezing me firmly in my tracks just as I was trying to tiptoe out of there, the chef continued, "Oh, Tsukino-chan! If you have some time, why don't you stay for a bit and meet my number one customer?"

Aw, crap.

* * *

"So you live alone like me?"

I nodded with something akin to morbid fascination as I watched Uzumaki Naruto down ramen like it was going out of style. Huh, what do you know? Naruto really could eat a dozen bowls of ramen in one go.

Naruto's always been one of my favourite characters, perhaps because his childhood was even shittier than mine and it never kept him down for long. Though now that the blond-haired, blue-eyed orange semi-eyesore was sitting right next to me, I really couldn't think of him as a 'character'. The boy was very real, as real as I was now.

"Where are your parents then?" The blond continued his line of questioning in between slurping up his noodles. My eyebrows twitched at the relatively tactless enquiry.

"Not here," I retorted brusquely. 'Where are yours' seemed petty so I said nothing, sketching tiny random seals on a napkin with a pencil. Good by-product of my photographic memory – I remembered practically every single seal that had ever shown up in the Naruto world, and now that I could properly study them, I could start figuring out how to create my own.

"Why'd ya have grandma hair anyway?" Naruto prodded next.

I glanced up with a frown this time and noted the challenging glint in his eyes. What, trying to run me off? Hah! Like hair insults were going to work. Though maybe I _should_ take this out and book it.

"Thought that'd be pretty obvious, Blondie," I tugged at the end of a few strands sticking out from my toque. "One of my parents had white hair of course."

Naruto half-scowled at me before swallowing another mouthful. I studied him for a moment. Why _did_ he want to run me off?

He met my gaze again and this time I caught a glimmer of suspicion.

...Duh. He was the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, not that he knew it yet. But he was the 'demon' almost everyone scorned. It wasn't that far a stretch to realize that, for all his loud openness, Naruto would still be somewhat guarded.

I inwardly scoffed. Well that made two of us. I didn't trust a lot of people either.

But this was a ridiculous standstill. Teuchi had been throwing hopeful looks at us for the past twenty minutes now and we hadn't even really exchanged our names yet. Teuchi-san had been the one to introduce us. And it would be rude if I just up and left, but then again, I'd never had a problem with being rude before.

I considered my options. I was already in Konoha. I would undoubtedly become at least acquaintances with some of the Konoha Twelve (Eleven, whichever), and I was already changing something, big or small, just by _being_ here.

I might as well jump right in with both feet. It didn't hurt that this was Naruto, and I wouldn't mind being his friend, though how to go about it was another matter entirely. I hadn't had an actual friend since I graduated at sixteen, and even those few had been distant friends, our ties easily cut.

Well, when in doubt, be direct. Don't beat around the bush.

I stuck out a hand across the table and watched the blond do a double-take at the proffered appendage.

"I'm Tsukino Rei," I started bluntly. "You can call me Rei. Other than Teuchi-san, I pretty much don't know anyone else in the village, so, wanna be friends?"

Naruto's mouth hung open and I was very careful not to wrinkle my nose when I spotted half-chewed noodles. Thankfully, the blond dragged together enough brain cells to swallow his food even as his eyes darted between my hand and my face.

I arched an eyebrow.

"You can always find someone else to be friends with," Naruto huffed, poking at his ramen with his chopsticks. "In fact, you'll like that better."

My other eyebrow rose. "I'm asking _you_. And you don't even know me. Don't assume stupid things about me or I'll punch you."

Naruto looked downright perplexed now. His gaze dropped to my hand again, which, by the way, was starting to get tired.

I sighed. God, this was awkward. Blowing out a breath, I shot to my feet, reached forward, seized his right hand, chopsticks and all, and shook it firmly. "Nice to meet you, Uzumaki Naruto. First thing you should know about me – I don't do anything half-assed. I'm your friend now, so I'm afraid you're stuck with me."

And without another word, I released him and sat back down, focusing on tucking my napkin away and biting the inside of my cheek to stave off the burn of embarrassment threatening to rise in my cheeks.

Frank and straightforward – that was the way I always did things... unless being underhanded and vague was required. I wasn't beneath that either, but not when it came to human interaction. Probably why I had never had many friends.

"...Nice to meet you too," Naruto finally muttered. My eyes flash back up to find him staring back with an odd look on his face. "Ya still have grandma hair though."

I snorted. "Whatever floats your boat, Shrimp."

Naruto automatically bristled but the previous scowl didn't surface. "You can't call me Shrimp! You're as short as I am!"

I unconsciously straightened in my seat. "I'm taller."

Naruto drew himself up even more, looking indignant. "Nuh-uh!"

I bit my lip to hide a grin. "Uh-huh."

"Nuh-uh!"

"Uh-huh."

"Nuh-uh!"

I couldn't help it – I snickered. Ludicrous. Absolutely absurd. I was taking part in the most childish argument known to mankind.

"You don't eat vegetables," I pointed out instead, nodding at the greens he had pushed aside in his ramen. "Those are needed for growing up properly."

Naruto made a face. "Vegetables are yucky!"

"They still help," I maintained. "And since I eat them, I'll always be taller."

Naruto peered apprehensively at me before going for his vegetables. "Hmph. You're a _girl_. You're never gonna be taller than me."

I leaned forward and rested an elbow on the table as Naruto finished up the rest of his meal. "You keep telling yourself that, Shrimp."

" _I'm not a Shrimp_ _!_ "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tsukino – Of the Moon, Moon Field  
> Rei - Bell


	2. Chapter 2

To say that it was the beginning of a beautiful friendship would be both cliché and pointless, especially since Naruto continued calling me Grandma at times and I continued calling him Shrimp (yes, I was taller than him by a full inch-and-a-half).

But after that first meeting at Ichiraku Ramen, I bumped into Naruto again two days later, the day before school would start.

(Years later, when I looked back, I would probably say that that was the exact moment our friendship had cemented for good.)

That day, walking down one street with my eyes glued on a book I was only half-reading and my senses on high alert as I picked my way around the various chakra signatures in my path, a commotion up ahead finally made me look up.

“Get out, Demon!” A shopkeeper shrieked, brandishing a broom as she shoved Naruto away from her store, making him fall down with an unceremonious thud. “You’re not welcome here!”

My blood boiled even as Naruto shouted something back in defense. I snapped my book shut and pushed my way forward through the throng of idle _useless_ civilians who wore a mixture of disgust and hatred on their faces.

Before anyone could stop me, I strode right up and lashed out with my book, catching the woman’s broom just as it came down on Naruto.

“Back off, lady,” I snarled in a flat voice that either surprised her or scared her enough to make her stumble back a few steps. I was hoping for the latter.

I turned to Naruto who had thrown up his arms to block the blow, only to lower them again when he had heard my voice. The blond was now staring up at me with stunned, disbelieving eyes that did nothing to cool my rising temper.

I gritted my teeth for a moment, reigning in my anger before sticking out a hand in an echo of the handshake I had offered only a few days ago. “Hey, you okay? Can you stand?”

Naruto gaped at me, looking partially dazed.

“What are you doing?!” The woman shrilled from behind me. “Do you know who that is?!”

I half-turned to glare at her with narrowed eyes. God, I wanted to smack that condescending look off her face.

“Yeah, Uzumaki Naruto, _my friend_ ,” I spat out before stooping down and grabbing Naruto’s hand. “Come on, Shrimp, what are you doing sitting on the ground?”

This seemed to snap Naruto out of whatever funk he was in as he scrambled up, spluttering indignantly but still looking completely out of his depth, his hand clenching around mine as if he wanted to hold on but wasn't sure if he should.

I tightened my grasp instead and began tugging him away from the store and the woman and the crowd that had gathered.

“He’s a demon, little girl!” A man called out from somewhere on my left. “Hanging around him’s not gonna do you any good!”

“I’ll keep that in mind, thank you _very_ much!” I barked back sarcastically as I stomped away, dragging Naruto with me. The crowd parted like the red sea in front of me – if we had been in any other situation, I would’ve found it funny.

The civilians’ dissatisfied muttering followed us all the way down the street so I didn't stop until we had turned at least three corners and ended up in a more secluded area by an empty playground.

“You alright?” I demanded, rounding on him as we stopped beside a swing set. He wasn't wearing orange today, just a simple white t-shirt that seemed a little too big on him and worn grey shorts.

Naruto looked dumbfounded, especially since I hadn’t let go of his hand yet, but he had the presence of mind to nod. “Y- Yeah, I'm fine. You- You didn't need to do that.”

I shrugged, dropping his hand at last and plopping onto one of the swings. After a few seconds’ hesitation, Naruto circled around and gingerly sat down on the other swing.

“Course I did,” I said firmly, making sure my book was still in good shape after the idiotic broom attack before storing it away in my hip pouch.

Naruto scuffed the ground with one foot, pushing half-heartedly against it to move the swing. “If you hang around me, they’ll start not liking you too.”

I snorted. “So? What do I care if they don’t like me? The only thing I care about is if I like myself, and I’d hate myself if I’d just walked away and pretended I didn't see you.”

Naruto turned to look at me with wide blue eyes. “But _why_? Everyone else does-”

“Do I look like everyone else to you, Shrimp?” I interrupted, scowling at him. “I told you – I don’t do anything half-assed. I'm your friend now, and as cheesy as it sounds, part of a friend’s job is to look out for each other. I take that very seriously.”

Naruto gawked at me, befuddled and still not really understanding. “You’ll be an outcast. Like me.”

“Then there’s only one solution for that,” I said briskly. “We’ll just have to be outcasts together. Get used to it, Naruto. I'm as stubborn as they come.”

A long minute of silence followed. I stared determinedly ahead as I waited for the blond’s verdict.

“...Don’t call me Shrimp, Grandma,” Naruto finally said, and the non sequitur and utter petulance in his voice coaxed a huff of laughter from me even as I slanted a sidelong glance at my newest friend. The blond was blinking rather rapidly, and his eyes looked suspiciously wet.

I politely feigned obliviousness.

“Then don’t call me Grandma, Shrimp,” I retorted instead. “And grow a few inches. Any shorter and I won’t even notice you when you're standing right in front of me.”

“I AM _NOT_ THAT SHORT!” Naruto bellowed, and the last of the tension in the air disappeared as I grinned at him and he grinned back, lopsided and goofy and still a bit uncertain but _genuine_ in its brilliance, and that was all that mattered.

In a fit of childishness, I slid to my feet, reached over to tap him on the shoulder, and then took off. “Tag, you’re it, and if you can catch me, I’ll admit you’re not short!”

An hour later, we were back at my apartment, panting for breath as Naruto pouted and I unlocked my door.

“Short _and_ slow, Shrimp!” I teased. Needless to say, I had won the impromptu game, having outraced and dodged all of Naruto’s attempts to catch me. By the looks of it, Naruto had better stamina but I was faster on my feet. The blond was already recovering while I just wanted sprawl on my couch for at least the next fifteen minutes.

Naruto just growled at me as he followed me inside. “I am _not!_ You're just unnaturally fast! How’d you get that fast anyway?”

“Meh,” I waved a hand, recalling the errands I had run (literally) across town every day, as well as all the exercise I've done since I was two years old. “I’m used to running around. Back in Kosai, I used to deliver messages or packages across town and I had to do it fast so I would have to run.”

I ducked into my kitchen, Naruto still at my heels. “Now then, you want ramen?”

“Heck yeah!” He said enthusiastically, and then faltered. “Er, that is, if you have enough-”

“Wouldn't have offered if I didn't,” I reminded him with an exasperated look. “Bathroom’s down the hall. Go wash your hands.”

Naruto rolled his eyes but trotted off. “Yeah, yeah, _Grandma_.”

Ramen really only took all of ten minutes to make, including the time it took to boil water, and the two of us were soon sitting at my small dinner table, blowing on the noodles and waiting for them to cool.

“So you're starting the Academy tomorrow?” Naruto quizzed, chattier than two days ago. “I've already been in the Academy for two years but jiji – that’s the Hokage – he decided to put me with my own age group this year so I’ll probably be in your class. I wonder who the teacher will be. I didn't like the last two – they all looked at me weird – so I hope this year’s better.”

As Naruto babbled on, I ran through the mental timeline I had constructed years ago. The Uchiha Massacre would happen two years from now, when we would all be around eight years old, and that would also be when Iruka would start teaching at the Academy. Sasuke and quite a few of the other ‘Rookie Nine’ would be in a separate class until then as well.

Speaking of which, I had already decided a while back that I wouldn’t interfere with the Uchiha Massacre. Even if I wanted to, there wasn’t anything I could do, and Itachi’s actions would actually prevent an earlier potential outbreak of the Fourth Shinobi World War, something that Konoha was definitely _not_ ready for.

As for the moral side of the issue, well, I had never been and would never be someone who went out of my way to help every Tom, Dick, and Harry I came across. I took care of what was mine – my friends, my family, my life; not a very long list – and discarded everything else. Perhaps it was somewhat heartless, but it was what I knew, what I had learned growing up, and it was what I would stick to.

It made my choice of friends – or friend since I only had the one – all the more ironic. If Naruto was some sort of seer or his future self had been somehow transported back in time, he would’ve been doing everything he could to try and stop the Massacre.

“-wanna meet up before school tomorrow?” Naruto was asking in a forced casual tone of voice.

I went from half-listening to fully listening again, zooming in on the way he was polishing off the last of his ramen with a tighter-than-necessary grip on his chopsticks.

“Sure,” I acquiesced easily and watched as Naruto’s head shot up, a flicker of guarded joy brightening his eyes. I suppressed a frown. It wasn't right for any child to look like that in the face of something so simple.

“Front gates of the Academy?” I continued lightly. “At eight-fifteen?”

Naruto grinned again, giving me a thumbs-up. “I won’t be late! Believe it!”

I smiled faintly on him as he went off on another tangent about his last two years in the Academy. I’d never had this before – eating a meal with a friend at home and talking about nothing in particular.

It was... nice.

* * *

“Rei-chan!”

I looked up from the book I had been reading – about basic taijutsu – and the chakra sensing exercise I had tied into the activity. Naruto was already standing by the Academy gates, waving eagerly at me as he hopped from foot to foot. He was wearing a black shirt today with the Uzumaki swirl printed on it, and grey shorts again.

It wasn't even five past eight yet.

I picked up my pace and broke out into a jog as I waved back at the blond. I pretended not to see the smatter of parents frowning between me and Naruto. “Morning, Naruto. You’re early.”

Naruto rubbed the back of his head and grinned sheepishly. “Yeah, but I didn't wanna miss you in case _you_ headed in early. I mean, it is kinda cold in the morning...”

My mouth twitched but I only reached out and swiped his hand into mine before proceeding to drag him towards the school. “Understood. Now come on – you have to show me where the class lists are posted and where the classrooms are. I'm new, remember?”

Naruto beamed and bounced ahead so that he was now dragging me instead. “The lists are posted in the main hall. C’mon! This way!”

Room 02 – that would be my classroom for at least the next year, and, scanning the list, Naruto would also be with me. The blond whooped when he came across his name on the same sheet and I spared a moment to throw him an amused look before looking at the roster again.

Akimichi Chouji was a name I recognized. Hyuuga Hinata was another. Inuzuka Kiba was the third. Nara Shikamaru was the last.

“Rei-chan, I’ll show you where the classroom is,” Naruto all but hauled me off my feet, looking ridiculously excited at the prospect.

With a resigned sigh, I quickened my steps and trailed after him. If there was one thing Naruto had that I would never have myself, it was boundless energy.

* * *

“Tsukino-chan, there’s a free seat over here,” The sensei, Tokudo Misa, said as she ascended the steps towards the desk I was sitting in. Beside me, Naruto stiffened even as she attempted a friendly smile that didn't quite make it to her eyes as her gaze flitted between the two of us.

“I’m fine here, Sensei,” No one can say I couldn't do cordial in the face of someone who deserved a bitch-slap.

The other kids whispered amongst themselves. Naruto and I had chosen a desk closest to the windows at the top and very back with Naruto closest to the window and me right next to him. It was pure coincidence that Shikamaru was seated in the desk below and in front of me and Chouji was beside him in front of Naruto. I was fairly certain that the two of them didn't really know each other yet despite their fathers’ friendship. Chouji had come in first and Shikamaru had probably chosen his seat because the six-year-old Akimichi was quiet by nature and didn't look too troublesome.

Kiba was one row over and three desks down, head craning around to watch us with inquisitive eyes.

On the other hand, Hinata was two rows over, head down and shoulders hunched. She hadn't even looked around like almost everyone else as the teacher spoke again.

Tokudo continued smiling bracingly at me. “Are you sure, Tsukino-chan? Wouldn't you want a seat closer to the front?”

_And away from the demon_ , I could almost hear her add spitefully.

I smiled back at her, cold and sharp enough to make the woman pull up in obvious surprise. I had perfected that particular smile in my past life after the first few times I had had to go and fetch my mother from a bar or pub and had had to tell the drunkards and perverts to fuck off.

“I am fine _here_ , Sensei,” I emphasized in a chilly tone that made even the shy Hinata and ever-lazy Shikamaru glance over. “The bell’s rung – shouldn't you start teaching?”

The faintest of red spread over her cheeks, forced down again in the blink of an eye as she turned on her heel and headed back to the front of the classroom to start the class. I had no doubt that I had just become one of her least favourite students.

A nudge against my arm made me glance to the left. Naruto was chewing on his lip, an anxious frown on his face.

I shrugged and patted his hand reassuringly.

“Don’t care,” I murmured, leaning back.

Naruto blinked at me, and his expression briefly turned odd again, like that day at the ramen stand, before a small smile, still a little tentative, pulled the corners of his lips up, and his shoulders relaxed again as he too settled back into his seat.

I eyed him carefully for a moment before concentrating on what the teacher was saying.

I’d befriended the weirdest kid in all of Konoha. Go figure.

* * *

“I have kunoichi classes after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays starting next week,” I said out loud as Naruto and I lounged on the roof of the school building at noon on our fourth day of school.

“They’re not compulsory – required,” I added when Naruto looked confused. “But I think I should go anyway. Most girls do.”

Naruto nodded seriously, munching on one of the steamed buns we had bought for lunch. “You should. You're gonna become a kunoichi and you gotta learn everything there is to know about it.”

I quirked a smile at him and nodded before flopping onto my back and staring up at the sky. “Guess I do. They're two hours long; wanna meet up afterwards?”

Naruto leaned forward readily. “Where? I could stay at school until you get out.”

“Nah,” I shifted and pulled out a key from my pocket, flipping it over to Naruto who fumbled before closing his hands around the silver metal. “Key to my apartment. We can meet up there.”

Naruto blinked. “Don’t you need it?”

I shrugged lazily. “Got a second one from the landlady yesterday. It’s yours now so don’t lose it. I don’t want some random stranger getting into my flat.”

The silence lasted long enough to prompt me to look up. “Naruto? What’s-”

I broke off, eyebrows rising when I found him staring at the key as if I had given him a priceless treasure. “You alright there, Shrimp?”

Instead of snapping back a Grandma comment, Naruto remained silent for a prolonged moment, and then tucked the key away into a pocket with the care one would normally give an expensive piece of jewellery.

“Thanks,” Naruto said quietly with startling sincerity.

I peered up at him, momentarily distracted by a gust of wind that stirred Naruto’s hair.

_A splash of sunshine against a piece of sky_ , I abruptly thought, disgustingly poetic. I shook it away and went back to staring up at the open blue instead.

“You’re welcome,” I only said. “Now finish your lunch, Shrimp. We’ve got ten minutes before we have to head back to class.”

“No need to nag, Grandma,” He shot back loftily, and the moment passed as conversation returned to light banter between us under the soft April sun.

* * *

After that, friendship between Naruto and I was steadfast and unbreakable, even in the face of most of the village’s disapproval. Or perhaps especially – I had never been one to let anybody tell me what to do, and Naruto was... well, Naruto.

The first weekend after school had started, it seemed that _everyone_ knew that I was Naruto’s friend. Even if I was walking down a street alone, clucking wives and nosy old ladies tracked me with whispers and judgmental stares.

It was lucky I couldn't care less about their opinions.

More often than not though, I spent most of my time with Naruto. After the first few times I had hit him over the head with my book for interrupting me when I was reading, he had gotten the point and sulked for a bit, but ultimately settled into a dogged, if fidgety, silence whenever I wanted to study.

When he had discovered that I had never learned how to hold a weapon though and our class wasn't slated to start for another few weeks, the blond had been more than enthusiastic in dragging me to the nearest training grounds for target practice.

Naruto’s grip on kunai and shuriken was somewhat sloppy, but the blond had the gist of it, and while he couldn't hit bull’s-eye, he could hit near what he was aiming for six times out of ten. That was better than I could manage.

Back in middle school in my old life, for around two years, I had joined the Archery Club, not out of any real interest but I had to join at least one club – idiotic school rule. So my accuracy was pretty damn good, if I do say so myself, but holding a kunai the proper way and throwing it was a totally different matter. I had the grip down after observing Naruto several times but my weapons either hit the outer edges of the target or soared past and missed entirely.

It was damn frustrating.

“It’s not working,” I grumbled on Sunday afternoon, gulping down some water. “Let’s take a break.”

Naruto wilted glumly beside me. “I don’t know why you can’t get it. Maybe I'm teaching you wrong.”

I shook my head. “No way, you showed me the proper way to hold the weapons. It’s just me – I need more practice. I mean, most kids have at least touched a kunai by the time they’re- what, three? Back in my hometown, they didn't even sell kunai. I’ll need more than two days to get the hang of it.”

I paused and glanced at the blond who still looked a little upset. “Tell you what – you've taught me how to hold kunai and shuriken, so I’ll show you something cool.”

Naruto visibly perked up at this. I smothered a grin. “Okay, you know about chakra?”

Naruto nodded vigorously. “Of course! It’s the energy inside our bodies! Or... well... moulding of two different energies?”

I smiled slightly and launched into the simplest explanation I could come up with. “Basically, it’s physical energy and spiritual energy combined. It can be channelled through your body to perform jutsus and other ninja techniques. Understand?”

Naruto nodded solemnly. “The teachers never explained it like that though. Actually, they just gave me scrolls to read. You explain it better.”

I squashed down the thrum of irritation that always seemed to appear whenever I was reminded of the village morons. At this rate, I just might commit homicide.

“Well,” I swallowed the urge to test my kunai skills on the nearest civilian. I’d probably miss anyway. “Do you know how to channel chakra? Like... this.”

I planted one foot against the nearest tree trunk and, without pausing, began walking upwards, spinning around halfway and still sticking easily to the bark. I couldn't help the tiny grin that spread over my face at the shell-shocked expression on Naruto’s face.

“Wow! How’d you do that?!” Naruto exclaimed, leaping to his feet and rushing over. “I’ve seen some shinobi do that before but I don’t know how! Show me! Show me!”

My grin widened even as I retracted some of my chakra and slid down the length of the trunk again, pushing off a few feet from the ground and landing lightly on the grass. “You can’t jump right into tree-walking just yet. I’ll teach you the leaf concentration exercise first.”

As expected, Naruto pouted and whined about that, not finding the leaf concentration practice half as interesting as climbing trees with only chakra, but after I cocked an eyebrow at him and told him to try, only for him to crash back to the ground after two steps that relied less on chakra and more on physical skill alone, he agreed, albeit grudgingly.

“Don’t worry,” I assured. “You’re already ahead of a lot of the other kids. I don’t think we even start chakra control exercises for at least another year.”

Naruto brightened at this, and like everything else he set his mind to, the blond was determined to master the exercise.

By sunset, there wasn't much improvement, but Naruto only declared that now he had something to work on along with me. When we parted ways, the blond was still going cross-eyed as he walked home with the leaf I had given him.

Back at my apartment, I was quick to set up a target board against one wall of my living room. Now I’d be able to practice even without going to the training grounds.

* * *

At times, Hiruzen wondered if it really had been for the best to hide Naruto’s parentage from the village and the secret of the Kyuubi from the boy himself. Sometimes, he knew it was wrong. Other times, most of the time, he could convince himself that it had been the best choice out of a limited number of bad choices.

As much as he hated to admit it, it helped that he didn't use his crystal ball to spy on Naruto most of the time. Or _because_ of this, most likely.

Hiruzen grimaced, turning his gaze to the nearest open window.

Things had gotten better recently though. Very recently. With the arrival of one Tsukino Rei.

Hiruzen absently puffed on his pipe. There was something about her – something familiar that he just couldn't put his finger on, yet he knew he had never met her before. Everything about the girl checked out – her background was that of any other civilian child who wanted to become a ninja, albeit one from Kosai.

Yet there was _something_ about her. He had sensed it the moment he had laid eyes on her. It didn't set off any alarm bells – he was sure the girl was harmless; or as harmless as any prospective shinobi could be – but there was _something_.

Hiruzen gave himself a mental shake. He was going in circles. Maybe he _was_ getting too old.

Still, he had kept an eye on Tsukino Rei, mostly just to make sure she was settling in alright. Not many six-year-olds could live by themselves without trouble. Even Naruto, who was quite independent in his own right, came by for monthly chats with him.

But Rei seemed to be doing quite well. The day after she had arrived, Hiruzen had ordered one of the Special Jounin, Shiranui Genma who had been complaining about being bored and dropping less-than-subtle hints about getting another mission after being discharged from the hospital only a few days before that (the man was getting as bad as Kakashi), to swing by her place with an offer to take her shopping for her school supplies, only for Genma to return half an hour later, a little perplexed and reporting that she had already finished.

What intrigued Hiruzen most however was the fact that she and Naruto had become fast friends the moment they had met each other. During one of the few times he had used his crystal ball, Hiruzen had watched the two children interact in school and out.

More than Naruto though, he had watched Rei. Watched her ignore the resentful mutters that now followed her almost everywhere she went. Watched her sneer right back at some of the shopkeepers who tried to separate the two children with insults and warnings.

For a six-year-old girl, Rei had incredibly thick skin. Or maybe just an exceptionally hard head. Either way, she had seemingly made up her mind to befriend Uzumaki Naruto, and Hiruzen honestly couldn't see that changing if she was willing to endure the treatment she was getting now for someone she had met only a week ago.

And he’d have to be blind, deaf, and senile not to notice how much happier Naruto was these days.

A knock at his door drew him out of his musings. “Hokage-sama, these budgets are ready for you to look over.”

Hiruzen stifled a tired sigh and waved his secretary in. Paperwork alone made him want to resign.

* * *

Kunoichi classes were... interesting. I had never so much as _thought_ about flower arranging in my life (lives) so I was actually learning something even on the first day. And the field that the teacher had brought us to was absolutely covered in flowers – I didn't recognize at least two-thirds. Some sort of jutsu must've been keeping the flowers in bloom as well.

More interesting though was the dynamics in the class.

Since there weren’t many girls attending the Academy in the first place, the kunoichi classes were relatively small, and everyone in my age group was here.

Which included Haruno Sakura, Yamanaka Ino, and even Hyuuga Hinata.

Now, I didn't particularly dislike Sakura or Ino – their antics as young teens just annoyed me. Both had grown up to be amazing kunoichi, and as kids, I approved of Ino protecting Sakura, which-

“Leave her alone!” Ino all but ordered, and the glare on her face was a mixture of her older self and her father’s, terrifying enough even at this age to make Ami scoot back several steps.

I watched as Ino, confident and outgoing, turned and went right ahead in introducing herself to the pink-haired girl hunched nervously on the grassy field. Within seconds, the blonde had managed to coax a shy smile from Sakura.

I turned away again to start my own assignment ( _collect some flowers that you think will look nice together and will express something to a classmate,_ Honami-sensei had instructed). The teacher had handed out booklets with a list of flowers and their meanings to us, though judging by how quickly Ino was working, the blonde probably already had the whole thing memorized.

I paused to scan the group of students. Honami hadn't said we needed to partner up or anything – only to gather flowers and give them to someone else. But with Naruto being both a boy and my only friend, I didn't really have anyone to give my... _thought_ to.

My gaze landed on Hinata sitting alone away from the other students, fingers fluttering indecisively over the flowers surrounding her but not picking any. It looked like she didn't know what to do either.

She wasn't alone for long though. Evidently having been scared off by Ino, Ami and her group of lackeys (Was it normal for a six-year-old to have lackeys? Or maybe they weren’t called lackeys at this age?) were now walking over to Hinata.

I didn't think even bullies were stupid enough to outright mess with a Clan heir, and a Hyuuga to boot, so I wasn't surprised when Ami smiled unconvincingly and thrust a small bouquet of flowers into Hinata’s hands. The girls behind her tittered as an embarrassed flush stained the Hyuuga heiress’ features.

I blinked, and then rifled through my flower guide. I had some of it memorized already but I’d have to sit down later and read it through more thoroughly. Scarlet geranium for stupidity. China pink for aversion. And bramble leaves tied in for lowliness.

Well, the little chit certainly knew her flowers, didn't she?

I stalled for a moment, glancing back at Ino, but the blonde had her back turned and was fully focused on Sakura.

I turned back to Hinata, who looked near tears as Ami and her friends continued to giggle. I didn't particularly care for the shy Hyuuga at this point, but Ami was getting on even my nerves and I wasn't even the one she was confronting, not to mention I did need someone to finish this assignment, and all future ones, with.

And I’d seen Hinata fight through her painful lack of self-confidence and become someone strong. That, I could respect.

With a huff, I cast my eye around for the proper flowers, neatly picking the correct ones before clumsily arranging them into a posy. Good enough.

Sweeping across the flower field, I deliberately stepped in front of Ami and crouched down in front of a startled Hinata.

“Here,” I said indifferently, thrusting out the bouquet I had made. “It’s my first attempt, so try to ignore the messy arrangement.”

Hinata blinked owlishly at the flowers for a moment as if she had no idea what I was holding, and then her cheeks pinked as she slowly laid down the posy Ami had forced on her and accepted mine.

She stared at it for a long minute. I waited patiently, eyeing my bouquet critically.

Yellow jasmine on the outside (modesty, grace, elegance), interspersed with white julienne (despair not), all surrounding two white chrysanthemums (truth), three small stalks of acalia (temperance), and an acacia rose at the very center (friendship).

Yellows and whites with softened fuchsia in the middle. Hopefully, it didn't look too bad.

Hinata still hadn't said anything, but Ami didn't have any problem cutting in. “Hey, you’re that weirdo who always hangs out with that blond kid. What do you think you’re doing?”

“Completing my assignment,” I said mildly, barely sparing the girl a glance. “I would’ve thought that was obvious.”  
  


Ami scowled down at me. “Sucking up to a Hyuuga?”

I arched an eyebrow. “Are you deaf? Did you not just hear what I said?”

Ami reddened and looked about ready to stomp her foot. I didn't give her a chance to talk again.

“Go away,” I said coolly. “If you've got time to bully people, maybe you should do something productive instead.”

I was clearly not going to rise to her bait, and there wasn't much else she could do besides storm away with her friends, especially when the teacher rounded the far end of the field and started coming back. The purple-haired girl could only glower harder before tossing her hair and finally leaving us in peace.

With that taken care of, I turned back to Hinata, offering a sardonic smile. “I promise I won’t get offended if you point out all the mistakes. I’ve never had an eye for colour.”

Hinata met my eyes for a fleeting second before her gaze darted away again. “N- No, it- it’s very nice. U- Um, th- thank you.”

I rocked back onto my heels. “’Welcome.”  
  


An awkward silence followed.

“Th- This-” Hinata stumbled, lifting the flowers in her hands. “I- Do you- I mean-”

I tilted my head. My god, the stuttering was even worse now.

“Yes, I know what the flowers mean,” I answered gradually, trying to work out what she wanted to ask. “Yes, I meant to give them to you. Yes, I mean every single one.”

Hinata blushed even harder, fingers almost trembling against the stems. “B- But I'm not- not any of th- this.”

I dropped back onto the grass, leaning my weight on my hands. “I’ll be the judge of that. It’s my opinion, after all. If it was up to you, we’d never get anywhere.”

I zeroed in on the beginnings of the Hyuuga heiress’ mental retreat and swiftly nudged her knee with one foot. “Hey, none of that, it’s annoying. This is just the way I am. I thought the whole school knew that by now.”

Hinata bit her lip, eyes flickering up again. “W- Well yes, b- but I try not to l- listen to- to rumours.”

I grunted. Well that was something. “Well then we can do introductions. I’m Tsukino Rei. I like to read, train, and... hmm, watch clouds? Not that I care whether or not there are clouds. I guess I just like lying outside under the sky. Anyway, I don’t like- well, I don’t like a lot of things – dishonesty, betrayal, and sheep amongst the top.”

“Sh- Sheep?” Hinata squeaked. Improvement. Sort of.

“Not the animal, people who follow others mindlessly,” I elaborated. “I hate them. It’s like they don’t have brains.”

A glimmer of intuitive comprehension flashed through Hinata’s eyes. “Th- That’s why y- you've already g- gotten into th- three arguments w- with Tokudo-sensei?”

I snorted. “Not my fault she keeps picking on Naruto. If she’d just leave him alone and treat him like everyone else, I wouldn't have a problem with the bitch.”

Hinata gasped, looking horrified. I blinked at her, retracing my words, and then offered a not-quite-sorry smile. “Sorry. Forgot you have sensitive ears, Princess.”

Hinata ducked her head again, but she seemed to be a fast learner since I didn't have to prod her again for her to look up, and the shoulder-hunching didn't occur.

“Your turn then,” I prompted instead. “Name, likes, and dislikes.”

Hinata opened her mouth and then closed it again, looking like I had asked for all her family secrets.

“Only fair,” I pressed blandly.

The heiress swallowed and glanced down at the flowers she was still holding. Something seemed to strengthen in her frame.

“I- I'm Hyuuga Hinata,” The girl stammered out. “I like to- to read, meditate, and- and-” She seemed to shrink into herself a bit. “I like to- to press flowers.”

“Heh,” I nodded. “Cool. I don’t know the first thing about pressing flowers, though I'm gonna take a wild shot in the dark here and say it’s not just sticking a flower into a book and slamming it shut. You can show me your work sometime?”

Hinata looked surprised, enough that she actually managed to look me in the eye for longer than a few seconds. “Y- You’re interested?”

I hummed thoughtfully and reached out to pluck a single wallflower from a nearby nest of the dull purple flowers.

“Most people don’t like these,” I remarked, twirling it between my fingers. “At least not for decoration anyway. They sorta fade into the background, you know? But it’s kinda neat how they carry my favourite meaning.”

I leaned forward and stuck it in the bouquet. It didn't really match, but even at six, Hinata seemed to understand the significance.

_Loyalty in adversity._

Whether it be bullies or enemy shinobi, I’d stand by her. All or nothing – that was how I worked.

“Flowers are like a whole secret language,” I concluded. “The simplest of flowers could mean several things. And that alone makes them interesting.”

Hinata stared at me for a moment longer before carefully placing my bouquet to the side, much more gentle with it than Ami’s. And then she rose to her feet and began to gather her own flowers. It took her awhile as she combed a large portion of the field for the correct flowers but she soon came back with her own bouquet.

Hers was definitely more artfully arranged than mine. A mix of blues and whites and indigos, I was almost afraid to accept them when she handed it to me.

Canterbury bells for gratitude. Amethyst for admiration. A scatter of blue periwinkles for friendship returned. And white snapdragons for strength.

“They’re beautiful,” I said honestly, and smiled minutely when Hinata flushed pink, definitely with pleasure this time.

Honami-sensei called a stop to the class soon after, and as we packed up and left for the day, our respective bouquets still in hand, I invited Hinata over for dinner. It wasn't even six yet.

Hinata shook her head, looking increasingly remorseful. “I- I can’t. My father is e- expecting me.”

_That’s one hell of a Hyuuga curfew,_ was the first thought that came to my mind, but I nodded outwardly instead.

“You didn't finish,” I suddenly recalled, stalling the heiress. “You didn't tell me your dislikes.”

HInata’s eyes widened as if she hadn't expected me to remember. “O- Oh, um...”

She trailed off, brow furrowing in thought. “I- I don’t l- like my s- stutter, a- and... I dislike m- my lack of s- self-confidence, a- and...”

Her gaze turned inward and troubled for several heartbeats. I wondered if she was thinking of her Clan and its laws and the Caged Bird Seal.

“Well,” I started, regaining her attention. “You’ll be cured of that stutter in no time in my company, and it’s not possible to lack self-confidence when you’re with Naruto.”

Hinata’s mouth twitched, like she wanted to smile but had spent a bit too long learning to suppress the urge. I smiled, but for something else. An hour ago, Hinata hadn't been able to look me in the eye.

She certainly could now.

“See you tomorrow, Hinata-chan,” I waved, waited for her to wave back, before heading home at last.

* * *

Naruto had been waiting nervously in Rei’s apartment since four-thirty in the afternoon. He would’ve stayed out longer but there just wasn't much to do nowadays without his newest friend around.

And wasn't that just _awesome_ to say? _Friend_.

Rei was blunt and honest and didn't mind getting dirty when they were training. She was really smart (she sometimes used big words he didn't understand and already knew how to channel chakra), she didn't act like other girls Naruto had seen at all, and he had overheard one of the few civilians (who acted like they couldn't see him and weren’t downright mean, and sometimes, Naruto wasn't sure which was worse) mutter to somebody else that Rei was someone who ‘took no shit’.

It only took him a few days to find out that this meant that Rei was someone you shouldn't mess with, which Naruto totally agreed with, because one, Rei packed a punch for someone who was only a little (a _little_ ) taller than he was, and two, _Naruto_ wouldn't stand for it _at all_.

Nobody messed with his only friend and got away with it. One guy who had, a few days ago, tried to grab Rei’s arm and drag her away from Naruto, only to get his foot stomped on and his crotch kicked, had been mysteriously pranked earlier today. Naruto had made sure to _flood_ the man’s store with pink dye.

Right now though, he had already put the kettle on (for ramen of course) and was keeping one eye on the clock as the second hand ticked past five-thirty.

How long would it take Rei to get home? What if she wanted to stop by a shop first? What if she had lost her own key? What if she was ambushed by one of the civilians who didn't like her because she hung out with him? What if-

The sound of a key unlocking the door sent Naruto scurrying back into the hallway, an automatic grin splitting his face as Rei stepped inside.

She paused when she caught sight of him and raised an eyebrow. “Hello to you too, Naruto. You know you could sit down and wait for me, right?”

Naruto rolled his eyes to cover his embarrassment. “Duh, I was in the kitchen, but I heard you come in. How was class?”

A half-smile – for some reason, maybe habit, Rei never seemed to be able to manage more than that in the few times she actually offered a real one instead of one of those sarcastic or wintery smiles usually aimed at the world in general – tilted her lips.

“Alright,” She decided, tugging at an edge of her toque (which was something else Naruto didn't get – Rei wore that hat _all_ the time). “I made a new friend.”

Naruto stiffened without meaning to. New friend? “New friend?”

Less than two weeks since meeting Rei and Naruto already knew that his best friend had a strange ability for picking up stuff other people would miss. This time was no different as Rei paused in the kitchen doorway and glanced over at him.

“I’ll introduce you two tomorrow,” She said mildly. “She’s in our class – Hyuuga Hinata. And then you'll be friends too.”

Naruto scratched his cheek, feeling awkward. “But we’ll- we’ll still be friends, right?”

Rei’s eyes softened just a little. “Of course, Naruto. You do know you're my first friend, right?”

Naruto blinked, and then moved over to the stove when the kettle whistled. From the tidbits Rei had told him of her old town, he had thought she was pretty popular. “I am?”

Rei nodded, washing her hands at the sink before taking down a few packs of ramen. “Yeah. I've never really fit in with the kids back in Kosai, and most of the adults knew me but they weren’t my _friends_. You’re the first, ever.”

An odd look came with the last sentence and Naruto didn't know what to make of it, but he was distracted by the warm glow in his chest. As selfish as it was, he was secretly glad that Rei had never had a friend before him.

Two minutes later, Naruto was seated at the table and waiting impatiently for the ramen to be ready while Rei grabbed a large glass, filled it with water, and placed the bouquet of flowers she had come home with into it.

“Is that from class?” He queried curiously.

“Yup,” Rei disappeared into the hall for a moment before coming back with paper, ink, and a brush. “We started flower arranging today. That one’s from Hinata-chan.”

Naruto glanced at the flowers one more time before peering Rei, who was now bent over the piece of paper and drawing funny symbols onto it. “What are you doing?”

“Making a stasis seal,” She explained, not looking up. “It’ll keep the flowers from wilting.”

Naruto straightened, impressed. “You can do that?”

Rei looked up briefly, amusement in her eyes. “It’s called fuuinjutsu – sealing techniques. Takes a lot of studying though, and even more than that if you want to create your own.”

Naruto made a face. It sounded cool, but he didn't want to study any more than he already had to. “Yuck, I’ll leave fuuinjutsu with you then. I hate studying.”

Rei snickered, finishing the last stroke of the seal before getting to her feet and slapping it against the glass that held the flowers. Naruto spotted Rei’s silvery-blue chakra for a split second before the seal seemed to melt into the glass.

“That _is_ kinda cool,” Naruto conceded.

Rei smirked at him. “Wanna learn?”

Naruto scowled and grabbed his ramen. “No way! When we grow up, I’ll kick enemy ass while you can do all the researching.”

Rei snorted and slid back into the seat next to his. “Don’t count on it, Shrimp. When we grow up and have to face enemy shinobi, I’ll be kicking their asses too.”

Naruto swallowed a silly smile along with a mouthful of ramen.

That’s as good as Rei promising she’d still be there years down the road, fighting right alongside him.

* * *

Naruto and I used my makeshift target board for practice after dinner, and then I broke out a pack of cards and taught him a few card tricks I had picked up in my last life when I had had to entertain children during that one job at a festival. Naruto’s execution of the tricks was shoddy, but unlike the mention of fuuinjutsu, the blond was determined to succeed.

“Aw crap!” Naruto was peering out my window. “It’s raining!”

I lowered the scroll I was reading. “You could just stay over.”

Naruto spun around, eyes wide. “Really?”

I nodded, glancing at the clock – eight-thirty – and then in the direction of my room. I didn't have an extra futon or anything, and sleeping on the couch would be uncomfortable. My bed was as narrow as they came, really only big enough for one person. My landlady had gotten word from the Sandaime and had helpfully given me a child’s twin-size instead.

“Here,” I put aside my reading material and headed for my bedroom. “I’ve got a lot of blankets. We can pile them all in the living room and sleep there instead.”  
  


Naruto still looked a bit bewildered as he helped me spread the blankets and pillows over the floor. “You can sleep in your bed, Rei-chan.”

“Nah,” I flopped down, smoothing out the sheets. “What fun would that be? This way, we can have a sleepover. And I’ll dig up a pair of pyjamas for you. Don’t worry, my night clothes are all white or blue and not girly.”

Half an hour later, we had showered, brushed our teeth, and changed (I kept my toque on, ignoring Naruto’s quizzical look, along with my face paint), I had made sure the door and windows were locked, and turned off all the lights except the lamp in the sitting area before joining Naruto in the pool of fluffy blankets on the floor.

I raised my eyebrows when I found him lying flat on his back and smiling contentedly at the ceiling. “What’s up with you, Shrimp?”

Naruto only rolled over onto his stomach, hugging a pillow to his chest as he propped his chin up with it. “I’ve never had a sleepover before.”

I hummed noncommittally and cracked open the scroll I had been reading earlier. “Well, there’s a first for everything. You want something to read?”

Naruto stuck out his tongue but extended a hand anyway. I hid a grin and handed him the Konoha rulebook. He’d have to memorize the laws sometime.

Besides the occasional question from Naruto enquiring about the meaning of a word, the room remained comfortably silent, and when Naruto finally nodded off at eleven, I reached over, plucked the book from his hands, and then placed my own scroll aside as I turned off the lamp.

Darkness cloaked the room, and after properly tucking Naruto into the blankets, I allowed the soft moonlight and the muffled pitter-patter of rain against the window pane lull me to sleep.

* * *

I had never needed an alarm clock in either of my lives so it was no surprise when I woke up a little before six per usual.

What was surprising was the ball of warmth curled at my side, and it took a moment of blinking blearily at the spikes of yellow hair nestled against my shoulder before I remembered that Naruto had slept over.

I huffed and tried to wriggle my arm out of the tight koala-like grasp Naruto had on the appendage.

I gave up after a full three minutes of squirming in vain. The blond had shed half his blankets sometime in the night and was even drooling a little, thankfully not on me.

I glanced at his slumbering features again and foreign affection tugged at my heart. I had never had a sibling to take care of before – I wondered if this was a little of what it was like.

Naruto made a snuffling sound and then flopped over onto his back, still snoring lightly as he released my arm. Hallelujah!

Hastily, I rolled away, making sure to yank the idiot’s blankets back up before making my way to the bathroom.

I’d have to wake Naruto later. He still had to run home for a change of clothes before we both headed to school.

* * *

“That’s the girl I told you about,” I said as we stepped inside the classroom, gesturing at the blue-haired Hyuuga sitting at the top, her eyes glued on her desk.

“Oh,” Naruto cocked his head. “Why is she staring at her hands so hard?”

I sighed and whacked him over the head. “She’s a really shy one, so for heaven’s sake...”

I quirked a grin at the blond. “Go all-out.”

Naruto mouth dropped open for a moment, and then he gave me a thumbs-up before bounding up the steps. “GOOD MORNING, HINATA-CHAN!”

I smiled ruefully as the poor girl almost fell out of her seat, starting like a frightened rabbit. Taking the steps two at a time, I vaulted over one of the chairs and landed neatly on the table, cross-legged.

“Yo, Hinata-chan,” I waved a greeting, watching her pale eyes dart between the two of us. “Remember me?”

Hinata needed a moment to collect herself but nodded hesitantly after a few seconds. “Y- Yes, o- of course. G- Good morning, Tsukino-san, umm... U- Uzumaki-san.”

Naruto and I were in perfect unison when we both made revolted faces.

“Ugh,” Naruto scowled. “Don’t call me that. ‘Naruto’ is fine. And I’ll call you Hinata-chan, okay? We’re friends from now on – believe it!”

Hinata turned beet-red. I could almost see the beginnings of a crush taking root.

“What he said,” I agreed. “And _please_ just call me ‘Rei-chan’ or ‘Rei’. Either one will do.”

Another one of those almost-smiles fluttered at the corners of her lips and a wary sort of delight began creeping into her eyes.

For two people with such differing personalities, Naruto and Hinata certainly reminded me of each other.

“Rei-chan a- and Naruto-kun then,” Hinata was stammering, fingers tangling together anxiously.

“Much better,” I approved, and then elbowed Naruto. “Now the first thing you should remember about this knucklehead here is that he has all the tact of a hammer. Absolutely hopeless.”

Naruto instantly drew himself up. “Excuse me? You’re not exactly the epitome of tact either.”

I arched an eyebrow. “Where the heck did you learn the word ‘epitome’?”

Naruto crossed his arms. “In the law book I was reading last night. All Konoha shinobi must be the epitome of yaddy-yaddy-ya. I figured out what it meant. And then I forgot the rest of that law.”

I heaved a sigh in the face of Naruto’s suddenly sheepish grin and shot a long-suffering look in Hinata’s direction. “See what I have to put up with?”

“Oi! You’re not the only one who’s putting up with people, Grandma!”

I nodded solemnly. “I know. Hinata-chan’s going to have to put up with you too now. I feel sorry for her already, and the day’s barely started.”

Naruto spluttered wordlessly and then abruptly shut up when an unbidden giggle came from the girl in question. We both turned to her even as Hinata clapped a hand over her mouth, looking mortified.

“I- I'm s- sorry!” She stuttered. “I- I didn't mean t- to-”

“You should laugh more often, Hinata-chan,” Naruto interjected, cutting her off. “You look cuter when you do.”

And then, utterly oblivious to the crimson blush he had once again put on Hinata’s face, the blond began rambling about something else, hands gesturing wildly as he made a point.

I sighed again. I could see this getting out of hand in the future. God give me patience for puppy love, ignorant morons, and overly self-conscious girls.

* * *

“Wow...”

Hinata’s face heated as she watched Rei and Naruto pour over the pages of pressed flowers she had been making since she was three.

“M- My mother t- taught me,” She found herself revealing. “Sh- She was much b- better at it th- than I am.”

“She must've been terrific then,” Rei commented at the same time Naruto blurted out, “You’re mum’s gone?”

Hinata almost gaped, except it would’ve been improper for a Hyuuga. She had never had anyone ask that so candidly. Over Naruto’s shoulder, she saw Rei pinch the bridge of her nose, but the grey-eyed girl said nothing, only assessing Hinata with thoughtful eyes as if she was waiting to see how Hinata would react.

For some reason, Hinata really wanted to act the way Rei wanted her to, except she didn't know what that was, and Naruto’s question had been shocking enough that she could only reply with an honest one-worded, “Y- Yes.”

Even after all this time, it still stung to think about, her mother dying shortly after Hanabi’s birth, but it wasn't as bad as it had been and she didn't want pity for it so she tried her best to look Naruto in the eye as she answered. Her gaze drifted briefly over to Rei again and her heart inexplicably lifted when she found a measure of respect in the other girl’s expression.

“Mine is too,” Naruto said in a matter-of-fact way, and Hinata blushed again when the blond reached out and squeezed her hand in a comforting manner. “I dunno anything ’bout my mum though. Yours must've loved you a lot if she took the time to teach you something this pretty.”

Hinata felt a bit like smiling and a bit like crying because even her father – _especially_ her father – had never said anything along those lines to her, not even during the funeral.

She managed a tiny smile that wobbled a bit instead, but Naruto was grinning warmly at her and Rei was smiling that odd, crooked smile, and she thought that her long-agonized-over choice to brave the kunoichi classes and actually attend was the best decision she had ever made.

“D- Do you want me to sh- show you h- how?” Hinata forced out before she lost her nerve, and then she felt like slapping herself because Naruto was a _boy_ and he wouldn't be interested, and Rei was a tomboy and had said yesterday that she had just wanted to look-

“Sure,” Rei’s voice cut through the whirlwind of thoughts in Hinata’s head. “Sounds fun.”

Naruto chewed his lip but rolled up his sleeves, looking determined. “I'm gonna make a whole page of pressed flowers, and then you can put it at your mum’s grave. That way, she’ll know about your friends.”

Rei hummed in agreement. “Yeah, that’s a good idea.”

Hinata didn't have the heart to tell them that she was sure her father would never allow this, but she finally relaxed as she began showing her new friends how to press flowers. She only had to pause once to quickly swipe a sleeve over her eyes, something that both Rei and Naruto either didn't see or pretended not to see.

Maybe she’d find a way to sneak the pressed flowers in and hide them near the grave somewhere.

* * *

Our group of two became a group of three after Hinata joined us. She was still soft-spoken and prone to stuttering, but over the next few months, it got exponentially better. The speech impediment progressively faded when it was just the three of us, and that habit of not-quite-smiling was slowly broken.

And _I_ now had two people to look out for, two people to say good morning to, two people to eat meals with, two people to train with.

  
It figured that once Hinata’s old man found out about her friendship with the _Kyuubi Jinchuuriki_ , he wasn't exactly jumping for joy about it.


	3. Chapter 3

"Hinata."

Hinata almost jumped half a foot in the air when her father's stern voice sounded behind her. She turned around as quickly as she could while still maintaining Hyuuga decorum and fought an inner battle with herself as she struggled to keep her head up and look the Clan Head in the eye.

_Chin up, head high_ , Rei had lectured, a companionable arm thrown around Hinata's shoulders. One of the other kids had whispered something cutting and spiteful about her one day and Hinata had shrunk into herself until Rei had swooped in and prodded her out of it. _You have nothing to hide. You are who you are – be proud of it_.

"Yes, Otou-sama?" She enquired, internally cringing at how small her voice was even though she hadn't stuttered.

Pale eyes studied her with strict criticism. "I have received knowledge of your acquaintance with one Uzumaki Naruto."

A pause. Hinata couldn't help fidgeting, and then instantly regretted it when a tiny crease of disapproval appeared on her father's brow.

"It is unwise for a Hyuuga to interact with that boy," His father continued coolly. "Cease you association with him at once."

Hinata froze. What? Stop being friends with Naruto? Just because most of the village didn't like him? She didn't even know _why_ most of the village didn't like him.

Her mouth opened to say something but nothing came out, not even a wordless squeak, and her father was already turning away, effectively ending the conversation. He had given an order, and he expected her to obey.

She closed her mouth again. Her eyes burned. She didn't want to stop being friends with Naruto. He was fun to be around, and neither he nor Rei made her feel stupid or weak or inferior to them.

Rei!

Hinata could ask her for advice, couldn't she? Rei was always far more confident than she was, and even though the other girl had confessed that she didn't know any taijutsu and her skill with kunai and shuriken was atrocious (Rei's words, not hers; she could never say something so insensitive about someone, and Hinata knew that it would just take more practice for Rei to get better), Hinata still felt there was something about her that simply screamed competence.

She watched her father disappear inside the main house, and then continued towards the front gates of the compound. She was running a bit late today – if she didn't hurry, she wouldn't make it to school in time to join Naruto and Rei at the front gates of the Academy.

* * *

" Rei-chan?"

I blinked and looked up from the latest book I was reading. It was three in the afternoon and Naruto had gotten detention again so Hinata and I were waiting for him on the roof per usual.

Normally, I would be going over information about fuuinjutsu or reading up on taijutsu basics while Hinata would use the time for meditation or homework. Sometimes we chatted, sometimes we didn't, though Hinata had never sounded so nervous, not even at the beginning.

"What's up?" I sat up, bookmarking my page before giving her my full attention.

Hinata was doing that finger-poking thing with her hands and I had to flatten the urge to grimace. That action annoyed me to no end for some reason, even more than the blushing and stuttering and no-eye-contact thing. Overall, she was getting better, but it was still an uphill climb of sorts.

"I- I-" Hinata paused and took a deep breath, centering herself before starting again. "My father – he's found out a- about my friendship with Naruto-kun, and he- he doesn't want me to continue being friends with him. I- I don't know what to do."

"Hmm," I leaned back, tilting my head to stare absently at the sky. From what I knew of Hiashi, the man could be a real stick-in-the-mud, and he hadn't really changed until Neji had snapped and blurted out his fate issues to Naruto during the Chuunin Exam.

"Well," I glanced back at her. "What do you want to do?"

Hinata jerked a little, surprised, and then bit her lip, gaze dropping back to her hands. "I- I don't want to stop being friends w- with Naruto-kun."

I grunted. "Then tell your dad that."

Hinata tensed. "I- He's the Clan Head, a- and I'm his firstborn daughter; I- I can't disobey him."

I looked at Hinata impassively. "Then stop being friends with Naruto."

Hinata flinched as if I had slapped her, and my stomach twisted uncomfortably. I ignored it.

"You're going to have to choose one or the other, Hinata-chan," I said adamantly. "You can't have both. Defy your father or give up your friendship with Naruto."

When she didn't reply right away, I goaded evenly, "It's understandable if you choose the first – you've only known Naruto for about two months. Not even. And it's just plain easier to turn your back on Naruto rather than stick with him against the majority of this village."

I eyed Hinata's suddenly balled fists with interest.

"That's just cruel!" Hinata burst out, lilac eyes narrowing. "I- I could n- never do that to him!"

I raised an eyebrow. "No?" I asked mildly. "What about your father?"

Hinata recoiled again, hands clasping together. "I- I- He's my _father_."

I sighed. This was something I couldn't really sympathize with. I had spent all of my living years without depending on any parental figure, not to mention I had a hell of a problem with authority when it came to people telling me what to do without good reason. Besides my employers (and even then there had been that one lady who had pissed me off so much that I had gotten myself fired within the first two days), I usually just told anyone trying to boss me around unfairly to fuck off – not exactly the best advice for Hinata.

But I did _understand_. I understood Hinata, and, perhaps more importantly, I understood Hiashi. I understood that Hinata wanted to make her father proud despite the man's strict, aloof countenance, and I understood that Hiashi's disapproval towards Hinata was not directed at her talent or potential but at her lack of determination to succeed as the future Clan Head, and was going about fixing it the wrong way.

I also understood that neither of _them_ understood the other.

"So talk to him," I suggested. "If you really want to stay friends with Naruto, then stand up to your father and tell him so. He may be your father and the Hyuuga Clan Head, but you are still your own person. You have a right to your own opinion, and no one should obey mindlessly. For once, do what you believe is right, not what your father dictates."

Hinata's hands were lying flat in her lap now and her eyes had widened again as she took in everything I said. For a six-year-old girl, she had already been brought up to understand words and diction that could boggle people three times her age. Come to think of it, most of the would-be-Genin in our generation were like that – all geniuses in their own right sooner or later.

I tilted my head and drove my point home. "In the end, when it comes down to it, the only thing you have to decide is what's more important to you: keeping Naruto's friendship or following your father's orders."

There was no more time for talk when muffled footsteps raced up the stairs leading to the roof we were on and Naruto came barrelling out, already greeting both of us enthusiastically.

I spared another glance at Hinata as we packed up and headed down.

A distracted smile graced her lips as she listened to Naruto complain loudly about the teacher. Her shoulders were still a bit hunched and her grip on her schoolbag was white-knuckled and frightened.

But I rather liked the steely glint that had crept into her eyes.

* * *

Hiashi was reading over last year's renovation costs of the compound and calculating how much money would be needed to add a new training grounds within the next few months when he sensed his eldest daughter's chakra signature enter the house.

As was customary, two soft knocks sounded at his door several seconds later, and his expression automatically schooled itself into a mask of indifference even as he called out, "Enter."

The door slid open and Hinata crossed the threshold, closing the door before moving into the room and dipping into a respectful bow. "I'm home, Otou-sama."

Hiashi inwardly raised an eyebrow. This was new. Usually, both Hinata and Neji greeted him from the door before continuing on towards their respective rooms.

He nodded stoically, waiting for Hinata to continue. When his daughter only continued to stare at the ground, he stifled a sigh and prompted, "Was there something else?"

Hinata visibly swallowed, and then, much to Hiashi's surprise, his daughter straightened, lifted her head, and looked him straight in the eye.

"A- About what y- you s- said this m- morning, Otou-sama," She stammered out, looking ready to faint, but not once, not for a single second, did she drop her gaze. "I- I- I can't- I _won't_ s- stop being friends w- with N- Naruto-kun!"

Her voice cracked on the last word and Hiashi was actually worried for a split second that Hinata really would pass out right then and there.

(Did he really scare her so much?)

But his daughter took a deep breath and seemed to steady herself somewhat, and Hiashi allowed her declaration to sink in.

"You won't?" He frowned in consternation. "It is for the best, Hinata. Frequenting with that boy will do the Clan no favours. You can make other friends."

He expected that to be the end of it. It was very, very rare for Hinata to press an issue in the first place. For her to persist even further would never hap-

"N- No."

Hiashi stilled, more shocked than angry. "I beg your pardon?"

Hinata's lips quivered like she wanted to cry but she was still _looking at him_. "N- No. I w- won't stop b- being Naruto-kun's fr- friend."

Hiashi mentally shook away his astonishment and frowned severely at his daughter. "Hinata, you will obey me in this. When you grow older, you will understand."

Abruptly, his daughter's jaw set, and for a split second, Hiashi saw his wife flash across his vision.

"No," Hinata insisted with uncharacteristic obstinacy. "I- I won't a- abandon Naruto-kun like that. H- He's my friend, a- and I won't- I _won't_ turn my back on him."

Hiashi stared, dumbfounded. A detached part of his mind thanked his ancestors that his Hyuuga genes helped keep his features blank.

"I- I've only kn- known him for t- two months b- but I c- can t- tell he's a g- good person," His daughter stumbled on. "I- I don't know w- what problem the r- rest of the v- village has with him b- but no matter what i- it is, I'm not g- going to abandon him."

Hiashi's frown deepened. "As you said, Hinata, you met the boy two months ago. Surely that isn't enough time to form such bonds. It is doubtful you will even become teammates when you graduate."

He raised a hand when Hinata made to speak again. Strange how he had wanted her to stand up for herself for years, and when she finally did, he had to put a stop to it. "That's enough. I am your father – you will listen to me. I do not want to hear another word."

He watched with some regret and a startling amount of disappointment when Hinata's shoulders sagged in defeat and her gaze finally slid away again. Head still bowed, she turned and shuffled towards the door.

Still, with a satisfied nod, Hiashi prepared to turn his focus back to his work again.

"...own person."

Hiashi subtly stiffened and looked up again, only to find his daughter standing just inside the doorway. "What was that?"

Hinata looked downright miserable but she was looking at him again and seemed to be clinging on to the very last vestiges of her newfound courage.

"I am m- my own person," His daughter murmured shakily, sounding a bit like she was repeating someone else. "Y- You are my father, and I r- respect you v- very much, b- but I am s- still my own person. I know I'm n- not much r- right now, b- but I want- One day, I _want_ t- to be able t- to look at myself a- and see s- someone I- I can be proud of, a- and I won't e- ever be able t- to do that i- if I b- betray the p- people who tr- trust me. E- Even if I've o- only known him f- for two months, N- Naruto-kun is still my friend. H- He trusts me t- to be his friend, and I- I won't b- betray that trust."

Hiashi sat frozen in his seat, wondering who this person standing in front of him was.

"Who said that to you?" He found himself saying before he could censor it. At Hinata's confused blink, he clarified, "Most of those words were not yours. Perhaps you believe in them, but they were not yours. Who was it?"

Who had given his daughter a backbone of all things in what seemed like a mere two and a half months since school had started?

Hinata flushed red and her hands began to fiddle in place again, but she managed a faltering response in the end. "R- Rei-chan did."

Rei.

Hiashi wracked his mind. Tsukino Rei – that was the girl who had recently arrived in Konoha to attend the Academy, the other student whom Hinata had also befriended.

He had done a discreet background check on her as well and everything had matched up to her file in the Konoha register. He didn't have a problem with Hinata having her as a friend. The girl was from an orphanage in a small town – Hiashi had dismissed her as unimportant after the report had come back.

Unimportant people did not cause such significant changes in his daughter in two and a half months.

"Sh- She's a good friend too," Hinata said defensively as if she thought Hiashi would try to take that friendship away as well. "Sh- She was the f- first person who t- talked to me a- at school."

Hiashi studied his daughter for a long moment. The silence once again made Hinata fiddle with the hem of her coat.

"Sh- She told me I sh- should t- talk to you," A spark of defiance entered her eyes. "B- Because I don't- I don't agree with you."

"Even if this is for the good of the Clan?" Hiashi countered sharply, ignoring the spark of guilt in his chest when Hinata flinched. "Is that not your priority?"

"He's just a boy, Otou-sama!" His daughter burst out. "I- I've seen h- how the v- villagers treat him, glaring a- at him and i- insulting him and even throwing r-rocks and g- garbage at him. R- Rei-chan a- always tries to protect him but what th- they're doing i- is wrong! I- If the g- good of the Clan means d- doing the same thing as them, if it d- depends on b-being cruel to a mere ch- child, s- someone _my_ age who h- hasn't even done anything wrong, th- then _no_."

Hiashi's eyebrows shot up as Hinata's shoulders squared and the defiance surged through her tiny frame.

"No," She repeated firmly, and in that one moment, Hiashi caught a glimpse of his daughter grown up and standing tall. "That is _not_ my priority."

Dead silence reigned in the room and Hinata abruptly shrunk into herself again looking shaken and shocked at her own audacity.

Irritation warred with satisfaction as Hiashi stared at his daughter.

No.

His eldest daughter, heiress to the Hyuuga Clan, had refused the pride of the Hyuugas, refused to put the reputation of their Clan before her own ideals.

"The Elders will not be pleased," Hiashi said in a flat tone.

Hinata tensed.

" _I_ am not pleased," Hiashi continued, ignoring the fact that this was at least half untrue.

Hinata bit her lip and stared at her hands.

But she did not take her words back.

Hiashi smothered the urge to close his eyes and pinch the bridge of his nose. It would be... _easier_ for the Hyuuga Clan to disassociate itself with the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, but-

But it was just a friendship. They were both six years old – what could possibly happen? The Hyuuga Clan's name might take some damage, those Uchihas might attempt to _further_ said damage, and Hiashi could foresee more than one headache in his near future if and when the Clan Elders demanded to know why his eldest daughter was interacting with the village's Jinchuuriki, but-

But the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki was also Minato's child, and Hiashi respected the Yondaime enough to feel some regret towards the way the boy was treated when he allowed himself to think about it.

And wasn't this what he had wanted? Ever since his brother had sacrificed himself to save him, wasn't _change_ to the Hyuuga's caste system exactly what he had been trying to implement? The Elders had blocked his subtle attempts at every turn so he had hoped to instill some independence and confidence in Hinata instead, and while he was sure this new self-assurance, still as fragile as a single leaf at autumn's end, had next to nothing to do with him, wasn't this what Hiashi had wanted to see in Hinata all along?

And even if he never said it out loud, didn't know how to, Hiashi could at least admit to himself that he was damn proud of his daughter right now.

"You will not change your mind on this," He intoned at last, less a question and more a statement.

Hinata shook her head stiffly.

Hiashi really did sigh this time. Briefly, he considered hinting at disowning his daughter but this was discarded immediately. He wouldn't be able to go through with it anyway, even if it might force Hinata to back down.

"Very well, I will allow your continued association with the boy," Hiashi compromised, watching his daughter's eyes widen. "On one condition."

Hinata stilled. "Y- Yes, Otou-sama?"

Hiashi reached out and straightened a stack of paperwork. "Your other friend – Tsukino-san. Extend an invitation to her to dine with us."

Hinata's mouth dropped open. Hiashi made a note to remind her to fix that. Shock shouldn't come so openly to a Hyuuga.

"Not Uzumaki-kun," He added sternly. "I draw the line at inviting him into our compound."

Hinata wavered and then stuttered an agreement. "I- I'll see if sh- she is free next week."

Hiashi nodded and watched his daughter finally take her leave before returning to his work at last.

He knew better than to attribute his concession to Hinata alone, so if he had to concede, something he hadn't done in at least a decade, then he damn well wanted to know who he was conceding to.

* * *

"Me? He wants me to come over for dinner?" I echoed dubiously as we practiced the tea ceremony in kunoichi class. Hinata looked to be able to do it in her sleep while I almost dropped the tea bowl several times. "Why?"

Hinata looked sheepish, which was already a far cry from two months ago when she would've already been stammering apologies. "I- I may have mentioned you in passing. A- About talking to him b- because I d- don't agree with what he t- told me to do."

I groaned. "Hinata-chan, you have no idea how proud I am that you stood up to your dad, but I'm pretty sure I don't even have the clothes needed for stepping foot into your compound much less dining with your family."

Hinata stifled a giggle. "I d- didn't think you cared about that sort of thing, Rei-chan."

I scoffed. "I don't, but he _is_ your father. First impressions and all. And no offense, Hinata-chan, but I don't want to sit through a stiff dinner where everyone has to sit up straight and speak formally. No proper clothes means I can't go."

A half-smile appeared on Hinata's face. "I- I don't think I can t- tell my father that, Rei-chan. You don't need to dress up or anything. Just come as you are."

I arched an eyebrow and then looked down at what I was wearing. A lot of grey – dark pants, lighter shirt – and a small hip pouch and sandals.

"Seriously?" I deadpanned. "Wouldn't I have to go wearing a yukata or something?"

Hinata hesitated and then shook her head. "Simple robes a- and a haori will be what Otou-sama will wear and Neji-nii-sama, my cousin, will probably w- wear a yukata as well, b- but I don't think it matters if you come in your usual clothes. I- If you want, I could wear this a- at dinner too."

I paused and eyed her attire. It was a lot like what she would wear when she became a Genin, except in smaller sizes of course, but it was still very... _Hyuuga_.

I sighed. "I'm sure I can find something a little more... suitable to wear. I've got some money saved up. You sure I can't just skip out?"

Hinata nodded sympathetically. "S- Sorry, Rei-chan. On the other hand, Otou-sama s- says I can stay friends w- with Naruto-kun now."

I smirked. "I still can't believe you told him to stuff it."

Hinata couldn't seem to decide whether to look horrified or amused. "I- I did not! W- We talked it out – I would never tell my father t- to _stuff it!_ "

I snickered, and when Hinata's lips twitched with suppressed mirth, I burst out laughing. It must've come as a real shock to Hyuuga Hiashi when his timid, shrinking violet of a daughter suddenly stonewalled him like she had.

They paused in their chatter when Honami-sensei admonished them and got them focused back on the tea ceremony instead.

"Y- You probably shouldn't w- wear your toque though," Hinata said at length, peering tentatively at me.

I froze for a split second. "...Ah, that would be... rude, wouldn't it?"

Hinata nodded. A blush rose in her cheeks. "A- And you have pretty hair, Rei-chan. W- Why do you hide it all the time?"

I didn't answer her right away, concentrating on the bamboo water ladle in my hand as I poured hot water into my tea bowl. "...You've heard Naruto calling me Grandma. Where do you think that nickname came from?"

"B- But I don't think h- he means it," Hinata offered. "I- It's just friendly teasing. Your hair's the colour of snow."

I smiled ruefully at her, inwardly fighting down a small blush of my own. "Yeah, I know, but white is rather eye-catching. I've just gotten used to wearing my hat. I really should dye it eventually but... well, white hair's also _me_. I don't want to suddenly become a redhead or something."

Hinata smiled shyly but there was a teasing light in her eyes. "I don't think you'd m- make a very good redhead."

I grinned back. "Yeah, neither do I."

We were relatively quiet for the next few minutes, with Hinata giving me pointers now and then when I fumbled through the steps.

"Guess I don't really have much of a choice," I said at last. "Day after tomorrow?"

Hinata noticeably brightened. "Day after tomorrow," She confirmed.

* * *

"So you're going over to Hinata-chan's house to eat and you have to dress up for it?" Naruto scratched his head as he waited impatiently for Rei to finish up in the bathroom. "And you can't wear your hat?"

"Yes," Rei's voice floated back muffled. "To both. Okay, I'm done."

Naruto's eyes almost popped out when Rei stepped out wearing a plain dark blue yukata with a thin black obi around her waist. However, all of that paled in comparison to the shock of snowy hair that fell about her neck in feathery locks. What was it he had heard some of the girls at school giggling about? The colour of clothes bringing out the hair and eyes or something? Huh, it looked like they actually knew what they were talking about.

"Naruto, you're gawking," Rei said dryly.

Naruto clicked his mouth shut, feeling heat rise in his face. "You look- This is the first time I have _ever_ seen you without a hat! Why do you always wear it? You don't look _that_ much like a granny- ow ow ow!"

Naruto yelped as Rei caught one of his ears and twisted. "Alright, alright, I'm sorry! You look- nice!"

To his relief, Rei let go and rolled her eyes instead. He winced and rubbed his ear.

"Don't force yourself," Rei snorted, and then grumbled and tugged at her obi. "Ugh, I feel like I'm getting ready to go to a festival or something."

Naruto hopped up onto the couch and eyed his best friend from his perch. "You really look... not bad. Pretty good."

This time, Rei smiled at him, though she looked amused as well. "Don't go getting a crush on me just because I dressed up, Naruto. I'm not going to return it."

Naruto made a face, about to deny it, and then paused as something occurred to him. "Hey wait! What's wrong with that? Girls can have crushes on me!"

Rei chuckled. "Yes, I know, but you're like my brother."

A warm glow expanded in his chest and Naruto didn't bother fighting the grin that spread over his face. Sometimes, even after over two months, he still woke up some days in his own apartment and wondered if he had dreamed everything. This year was definitely starting out a lot differently than his last six years had been.

"Alright, I better get going before I'm late," Rei said as she put on her sandals. "Now don't forget to lock the door after me. And eat everything I made for you, including the vegetables, or I'll force-feed you when I get home."

It was Naruto's turn to roll his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I know, Grandma. I wasn't born yesterday."

"Good to hear, Shrimp," Rei waved one last time before stepping out the door. "See you later."

Naruto waved after her before shutting the door and locking it. He allowed himself a brief moment to wish that parents didn't hate him so much that they tried to keep their kids away from him, and then reminded himself that Hinata's dad couldn't be that bad since Hinata was still his friend and hadn't made any move to _stop_ being that.

Shaking his more depressing thoughts away, he bounced back into the kitchen and began raiding the fridge. Eating Rei's cooking was far better than feeling sorry for himself.

* * *

"Welcome to our home," Hiashi said formally, inclining his head ever-so-slightly as I stepped in through the door of the main house after Hinata.

I dipped into a shallow but polite bow. "Thank you for inviting me, Hyuuga-sama."

As I straightened again, I met the Clan Head's eyes levelly, noting the assessing gleam there as Hiashi studied her. The man didn't say anything though, only nodding and leading them to the dining room with regal bearing in every movement.

_The only good thing about all this_ _propriety_ , I thought caustically as I walked alongside a nervous-looking Hinata. _Is that it would be highly inappropriate for any of them to activate their Byakugan and use it on a guest. At the very least, Hinata's dad won't see through my face paint._

As it was, I wasn't sure whether or not Hiashi would recognize me, or at least had an inkling of familiarity when he looked at me. I almost felt naked without my hat, and while Hinata's eyes had widened in surprise when she had met me at the compound gates, I was certain neither she nor Neji knew what Jiraiya looked like, or maybe even _who_ Jiraiya was.

But I might have sparked some suspicion in Hiashi, and if the man went Byakugan on me and adjusted his depth perception, he could probably take a pretty good stab in the dark as to who I was.

As we entered the dining room where dinner was already set out and Neji was already waiting, standing stiffly beside one of the chairs with his hands clasped behind his back and his expression closed off, I caught Hiashi sending Hinata a pointed look and the heiress hurriedly took her cue.

"R- Rei-chan," She started, a lot shakier than she would be when she was with just me and Naruto. "Th- This is Hyuuga Neji, m- my c- cousin. H- He's a y- year older th- than us."

Neji didn't scoff aloud (that would probably break half a dozen Hyuuga rules for all I knew) but a flash of scorn surfaced briefly on his face, something Hinata didn't miss when she glanced meekly at her cousin. The heiress flushed and ducked her head.

My jaw tightened but I forced a bland smile on my face even as I stepped forward and squeezed Hinata's hand reassuringly. _It's alright._

I felt her relax minutely beside me and squeeze back. _Thanks._

"Nice to meet you," I lied through my teeth as I stared at the seven-year-old head-on.

Neji's eyes narrowed as he returned frostily, "Pleased to make your acquaintance as well. Welcome to the Hyuuga compound."

The silence felt awkward to me but, apparently, this was normal as Hiashi circled around and sat down gracefully at the head table. I followed Hinata's – and Neji's – example and grabbed a seat only after the Clan Head had sat down, ending up between Hinata and Neji and across from Hiashi.

God, could this get any more uncomfortable?

A murmur of 'Itakdakimasu' and everyone dug in. I felt like a bumbling ox as I struggled to pace myself and eat as elegantly as the three Hyuugas were. Normally, I wouldn't bother, but Hinata's shoulders were rounded and tense enough without me adding to her stress and making her even more wound up than she already was.

Still, the hush was unnerving – I was used to listening to Naruto's chatter and laughing with Hinata when Naruto talked about his pranks. I was even perfectly fine with eating by myself and in silence, but not this kind where everyone seemed to be ignoring everyone else even though they sat at the same table.

Fortunately, Hiashi decided to break said silence halfway through the meal. Unfortunately, it meant my interrogation had just started.

"So, Tsukino-san," Hiashi finally spoke up, giving me a measured stare. "How are you finding the Academy?"

I swallowed a mouthful of rice before replying directly, "Interesting enough, for the most part. The schoolwork is relatively basic at this point. I find more trouble with throwing kunai and learning taijutsu."

The last bit seemed to catch Hiashi's attention. "You have difficulties with taijutsu?"

I nodded. "Some. I've just started though, and I've never even held a kunai before the Academy. I'm getting a little better each day, but it's slow-going."

I caught another glimpse of quicksilver contempt on Neji's face but paid it no mind. So long as it wasn't directed at Hinata, I couldn't care less what the seven-year-old thought of me.

"Hinata-chan's really good at the basics though," I added in a sudden stroke of epiphany. Perhaps I could... "She's been showing me all the steps and she doesn't yell at me either when I trip up half a dozen times over the same move."

Hiashi's appraising gaze turned to his daughter, whose face now matched a brilliant sunset. She looked equal parts terrified and embarrassed, but underneath both emotions, I thought I caught a trace of pleasure.

"It is only natural for a Hyuuga to know the basics of taijutsu," Neji cut in. "It would be shameful for Hinata-sama to not know something as simple as that."

No clear insults, but there was no mistaking the disdain in his voice, and Hinata shrunk into herself.

I gritted my teeth. _Shut up, Hyuuga. You're ruining my brilliant plan._

"Good thing she does then," I said out loud, smiling sweetly at Neji. "Or I'd be struggling way more than I already am. Hinata-chan's a good teacher."

Maybe something I said steadied her, or the recent backbone she had been growing was choosing this moment to show itself because Hinata's hand clenched around her chopsticks before she straightened in her seat, swallowing hard and casting a skittish look my way but raising her head again.

I looked up in time to catch the thoughtful speculation on Hiashi's face. Not that I knew what the Clan Head was thinking.

Hopefully nothing bad.

Neji scowled back at me – or at least scowled as much as his Hyuuga upbringing possibly allowed – before lapsing into a sullen silence.

Point to me.

...Not that it was much to boast about. Neji _was_ a seven-year-old after all, even if he was also a genius. Then again, part of my own brain was wired to that of a six-year-old – half the time, my emotional responses were still that of a child's even if I had the experiences of an adult in my head – so I figured that that evened things out somewhat.

From there, dinner proceeded with only the occasional exchange of words between myself and Hinata's dad, as well as several subtle barbs from Neji that I neatly deflected. I did my best to manipulate the conversation – what there was of it – to include Hinata, and encourage her into joining in, but the Hyuugas were a relatively quiet family, if only because none of them seemed to have anything to say to each other. No wonder they were so messed up.

When dinner was over, I checked the time and hoped that Naruto had already eaten a good dinner and would be getting ready for bed soon. Although knowing him, he was probably waiting up for me, which only made me want to get out of here soon. The meal had been unpleasant at best, but it had also helped Hinata a little, who had mostly stopped shrinking away from Neji's occasional glowers throughout the evening, so I had no regrets on that front. Hinata had been the only reason I hadn't kicked up a fuss about me being invited but not Naruto.

"Rei-chan?"

I blinked and turned to Hinata. We had all retired to the sitting room with a tray of tea while suffering through more stifling silence and stilted conversation; apparently, this was the norm amongst nobility. Or probably just the Hyuugas. Maybe the Uchihas as well.

"W- Would you like to see my sister?" Hinata rushed out uncertainly. It was the first time she had spoken up without being prodded by either me or her father. I did a mental jig. Progress! "Hanabi is only one b- but if you want, I- I could introduce you?"

She ended on an upward questioning lilt, giving a perfect opening for Neji to remark rather snidely, "Why do something so pointless? Hanabi-sama is a baby, and probably already asleep."

_Don't be stupid_ , the childish taunt went unspoken but still heard. This was Neji's way. He never outright insulted anyone but the underscore of mockery was obvious to anyone with ears.

_Be polite be polite be polite,_ I immediately started chanting in my head for the umpteenth time in the past two hours.

Hinata instinctively flinched and clammed up, a flicker of hurt passing over her features.

_Oh screw this_.

I had wanted to make a good first impression, I really had, because this was Hinata's family even if they were also a bunch of stuck-up sticks in the mud. God knew I could be a downright bitch when I wanted to be, and I wasn't all that polite on a daily basis anyway, but I had been on my best behaviour all night.

Clearly, that wasn't going to last.

"Hey, I'd love to see Hinata-chan's sister," I interjected testily, throwing Neji a blistering glare for good measure. "Who cares if she's a baby? She's one; she's certainly not gonna care whether Hinata-chan introducing me is pointless or not."

Neji bristled and his eyes narrowed. "Hinata-sama should have more sense than to waste time on worthless matters."

"I hardly think her little sister's worthless," I shot back, deliberately misunderstanding. "That's rather harsh of you, Neji-kun."

Neji glared, temper finally flaring under his icy facade. "It is a waste of time introducing you. Hinata-sama is a Hyuuga; she shames the Clan by consorting with commoners who will never be fated to amount to anything. You can't even handle taijutsu. Though at her level, I suppose you are all she could find."

On hindsight, I should've wondered why Hiashi hadn't stepped in, even now, but at the moment, I was past the point of caring.

I set my tea down with a distinct thump, any remaining civility sliding off my face and replaced with my usual scowl reserved for people I either didn't like or didn't give two shits about.

"Alright, that's _it_ ," I snapped with enough vitriol that Neji visibly jolted, looking taken aback. "Look, I couldn't care less if you insult me; I _know_ my taijutsu sucks, but you shut your mouth when it comes to Hinata-chan! She's your cousin, first and foremost, _and_ younger than you. I have no idea what issues you've got with her but picking on her like you do is called _bullying_ , jerk! And hiding all your insults behind pretty words is even worse! You've got something to say, then say it! Otherwise, back off and leave her alone, or you'll have me to deal with!"

For a long moment, Neji just spluttered, shocked and floundering for words. Very likely, no one had ever talked to him like I had, and even dressing-downs from his uncle or some other Hyuuga Elder would've been stern, stiff, and stuffily-worded.

Unfortunately for everyone involved, I'd never learned how to talk like a noble.

"Y- You can't i- insult Rei-chan e- either, Neji-nii-sama."

I almost gave myself whiplash as I craned my head around to look at Hinata. Frankly, the girl looked terrified but there was a resolute gleam in her eyes when she stepped forward to stand beside me. I wondered if she had looked like that when she had stood up to her father.

And speaking of her father...

I darted a glance at him. I didn't regret anything I said to Neji but being so rude was probably grounds for me being tossed out.

Hiashi was watching me with measured eyes. Whatever he thought of me or the situation in general was hidden behind an unreadable wall.

I sighed. Ah well. No use worrying about it now.

On the other hand, Neji looked like someone had punched him in the nose, and he didn't quite seem to know how to respond.

"O- Otou-sama," Hinata said next, and her hand slipped into mine. Without hesitation, I tightened my grip in encouragement. "I- I'd like to introduce Rei-chan to Hanabi now. Please excuse us."

She sketched a quick bow, and I followed her example before the two of us beat a hasty retreat.

"I- I can't believe I did that," Hinata gasped as soon as we had turned half a dozen corners through the Hyuuga main house. "I've n- never talked back to Neji-nii-sama before!"

I grinned and clapped her on the back. "I'm so proud of you, Hinata-chan. Now you've told both your dad _and_ your cousin to stick their spiel where the sun doesn't shi-"

"Rei-chan!"

I burst out laughing, and a second later, unbidden giggles slipped from Hinata's mouth, and by the time we had made our way to Hanabi's room, Hinata looked much more relaxed than she had at the beginning of the evening.

"This is Hanabi," Hinata introduced as we finally calmed down and entered the nursery. I peered down at the baby currently sleeping peacefully in the crib, dark Hyuuga hair still short.

"She's cute," I offered, although I'd seen dozens of babies back at my old orphanage. I'd even helped the matrons out with some of them.

"Babies are so tiny," I added as an afterthought. "It's hard to believe we were all that small at one time."

Hinata nodded in agreement. "Hanabi is considered a prodigy though. She's already activated her Byakugan a few times."

I glanced sidelong at her. She didn't sound resentful; just a bit wistful.

I jostled her shoulder, and she blinked at me questioningly.

"Does it matter?" I huffed, crossing my arms and giving her a bossy look. "Prodigy or not, it all depends on how hard you work. You're going to be strong one day, Hinata-chan, 'cause you never give up."

I paused, and then pulled a Naruto and gave her an exaggerated thumbs-up. "Believe it!"

This instantly startled a laugh out of Hinata, and she seemed to stand just a little straighter. I'd count that as another win on my part.

When we left the room, Hiashi was waiting in the hall for us, and I wondered how long he had been standing there.

He didn't say anything though, and it looked like the rather excruciating house visit had finally come to an end since he simply escorted me to the gates along with Hinata. Neji was nowhere in sight, which I was grateful for because I didn't feel like getting into another argument with the guy.

"Thank you for having me over, Hyuuga-sama," I bobbed a curt bow once more before straightening.

Hiashi nodded back, expression bland as ever. "Would you prefer having an escort home, Tsukino-san? It is getting late."

I blinked in surprise but hastily shook my head. "No thank you, I'll be fine."

Hiashi accepted this at face value but tacked on, "Please do come again. It has been a rather... interesting evening."

More like disruptive; I couldn't believe Hiashi was willing to let me within a mile of the Hyuuga compound much less another dinner.

But just because he was okay with it didn't mean I was. I squared my shoulders and stared straight at him. "Not without Naruto, sir."

Hiashi arched an eyebrow, and I knew the man had gotten the message loud and clear. We both knew he had told Hinata not to invite Naruto, and while I could overlook that once for Hinata's sake, I wouldn't be leaving him behind again.

Hiashi said nothing more, looking more contemplative than anything else, so I turned my attention to a wide-eyed Hinata and gave her a quick hug. "See you tomorrow, Hinata-chan."

Hinata smiled and returned the gesture. "Yes, see you tomorrow. Goodnight, Rei-chan."

I waved once more before slipping away, shucking my sandals as soon as I was out of sight of the Hyuuga compound. It was definitely easier to move, which reminded me – I really wanted to learn Shunshin soon.

Overall, the evening could've gone a lot worse (I hadn't shouted at anyone; that was pretty good by my standards), though it certainly hadn't been a success either. Still, my being there seemed to have given Hinata a boost in confidence, and I had given Neji a good verbal slap in the face.

Yeah, not a bad night at all.

* * *

"Hinata, has Tsukino-san ever talked about her parents?" Hiashi enquired as they walked back into the main house.

His daughter started a little but answered readily enough. "U- Um, no. She said she grew up in a small town o- outside of Konoha, and that she moved here to train to b- become a kunoichi, b- but that's it."

Hiashi inwardly frowned. Had the girl not even mentioned that she was an orphan? There were a handful of kids from time to time whose parents couldn't afford to move away from their original home altogether so they would simply send their children to Konoha if said children wanted a career as a ninja. Hinata most likely assumed that this was the case with her friend if Rei had made no reference to being an orphan.

Well, it didn't matter in the end; the issue would be come up sooner or later.

His thoughts turned briefly on the pure white hair Rei had sported. He had received a report of what the girl looked like but it was different up close. She reminded him of... someone, and it wasn't just the hair either. There was something about the eyes that struck Hiashi as familiar as well.

He gave himself a mental shake. More important than physical features was the girl's personality. He had waited all evening for the underlying fire that he had glimpsed every time Neji had lashed out at Hinata to surface, and it had taken all of dinner and a much more direct insult from his nephew before Rei had risen to the occasion. Hiashi now knew where Hinata had gotten her backbone from.

In many ways, Hiashi approved of the girl. She was obviously fiercely protective of her friends, though she could show it in a somewhat uncouth manner unfit for nobility (he hoped Hinata wouldn't pick that up). Still, Rei had been polite for the most part, and had even had the gall to reprimand him for not including Minato's son in the invitation.

(Again, that particular disregard for authority figures sparked a distant memory in his mind that he couldn't quite grasp, though he was sure he had known someone else some time ago with that same lack of concern for political etiquette, less blatant about it than Rei but essentially identical. Not another child, but a... fellow shinobi perhaps? Someone he had met on a mission?)

"Otou-sama?"

Hiashi left his musings behind and concentrated on his daughter again. They had reached an intersection where Hinata would have to turn off to withdraw to her room so he nodded and dismissed her with a quiet goodnight.

For a second, it looked like his daughter wanted to say something, but it seemed as if her quota of courage had been used up for the day, and she simply retreated down the hall instead.

Hiashi continued on to his own office. He had some extra work to finish up before he could retire for the night.

It looked like this would be the last time Tsukino Rei would be coming around for dinner though, at least for a while. She would not return at another request without the Jinchuuriki, and Hiashi couldn't afford to invite the boy in without the Elders complaining.

But he would ask Hinata for occasional reports on both of them from now on. Rei, in particular, was worth keeping an eye on. Despite her claim of being average at best at taijutsu, her eyes had shown sharp intelligence, and what he had sensed of her still-developing chakra was powerfully built. The girl certainly had the potential to become a formidable kunoichi one day, and influencing Hinata to become more confident was simply a bonus.

* * *

"Ah, summer break's the best!"

"Shh! Pipe down, Naruto! Do you want us to get caught?"

"U- Um, is this really a good idea?"

I exchanged a grin with Naruto as we crouched in the shadows Academy gates. Between us, Hinata looked torn between anxious excitement and appalled disbelief at her current actions.

After four months of school, summer had finally arrived and all the students had been let out for vacation. This was, of course, the perfect time to paint the Academy building bright yellow.

"It's an excellent idea, Hinata-chan," I assured cheerfully. "You have to live a little, and pranking's the best way to start."

"Yeah!" Naruto agreed brightly, beaming at Hinata in a way that made the latter flush pink. "And think of it this way – we have to paint the entire Academy yellow without getting caught; that's good practice for our stealth!"

"He makes a good point," I encouraged, and Hinata came very close to rolling her eyes. Naruto and I had worked hard at breaking her out of her shell, and while she still had a touch of that stutter and a tendency to revert to her shyer persona, she had gotten a lot better from when I had first met her during that kunoichi class.

"Okay," I scampered up one side of the Academy walls using my chakra before hauling Naruto up (he still hadn't gotten the hang of it yet but at least there had been a little progress) and then giving a hand to Hinata (who could make it up halfway before she started sliding). "We've got three hours before that meeting that the Hokage called gets out, right Naruto?"

"Yeah, that's what Jiji said," Naruto nodded as we dropped down onto school grounds.

"Right then; Hinata, you do the side closest to the gates since you're our lookout," I instructed, and Hinata nodded determinedly, hefting a paint can and a large brush.

I suddenly had a mental image of Hiashi's face if he ever realized we were turning his eldest daughter into a delinquent. I almost broke down in hysterics right then and there.

"And me and Rei-chan will do the side sides and the back side," Naruto chimed in even as I flicked out several Bunshin as lookouts for the back gates just in case. This earned an envious look from Naruto which I returned with a teasing V-sign as we scampered off to our designated assignments.

Out of all of us, I was the best at using chakra, Hinata was the best at taijutsu, and, after realizing these two points, Naruto had worked like a madman with his weapons so that he was now, surprisingly, the best at throwing shuriken and kunai. His accuracy was nothing to scoff at for a six-year-old.

"Rei-chan, I'll start here," Naruto announced, setting brush to wall without hesitation.

I nodded and made my way around the building to start at the other end. This was going to take a while.

Two hours forty-five minutes later, the entire school had turned an eye-watering garish yellow interspersed with, upon Naruto's suggestion, large pink polka dots.

"Now that's what I call a masterpiece," I drawled, slinging an arm around each of my friends.

Naruto snickered loudly while Hinata bit her lip, trying in vain to hide her own smile as she rubbed absently at some dried paint on her sleeve.

"Right, let's head back to my place to change," I prompted. "We can throw everything in the wash so no one will ever know it's us."

"Oh they always know it's me," Naruto revealed sagely. "They just can't prove it."

We exchanged another glance before dissolving into laughter once more as we scurried off towards my apartment, making sure to take all the empty paint cans and brushes with us.

I kept my window open as we did our laundry – Naruto and I showing Hinata the ropes because apparently, the Hyuuga heiress had no idea how to go about it, much to her embarrassment – so when the shout came, all three of us heard it loud and clear.

" **NARUTOOO!** "

Birds took flight outside in an explosion of wings and squawks.

"...Wow, that was loud," I remarked, patting Hinata on the back as she reeled a little from the shock of hearing our esteemed Hokage evidently screaming for Naruto's head.

"Don't worry," Naruto assured, arms resting behind his head as he lounged on the couch (it wasn't even _my_ couch anymore; Naruto stayed at my place more often than his own these days). "Jiji always gets over it after a while. And then he thinks it's funny because it's the poor little Genin who have to clean it up."

"Oh, do they?" Hinata looked a little guilty now. "Maybe we should help? It's a lot of work for the Genin."

"Hinata-chan, it was a lot of work for us to put it _up_ in the first place," Naruto reproached indignantly. "And _they're_ taking down all our hard work. They _deserve_ what's coming to them."

I snorted at this reasoning and offered my own. "Think of it this way, Hinata-chan; when _we_ become Genin, we'll be doing all the manual labour they have to do right now, so it evens out in the end."

Hinata's lips pursed in that this-isn't-funny-but-I-can't-help-myself way that I was starting to recognize as her doomed-to-fail attempt at reprimanding us. She slanted a look at both of us before sighing, "I think you're bad influences on me."

I grinned as Naruto cackled. "That's the spirit, Hinata-chan. Now let's go get ice-creams to celebrate your first outing as a delinquent, shall we?"

Hinata moaned and put her face into her hands. Naruto fell off the couch laughing. I sat back, satisfied and unbelievably happy with something as simple as this.

* * *

And so our summer passed, filled with pranks and trips to the local dango store, sparring practices in a small Hyuuga-owned training area that Hinata snuck us into and study sessions with the apartment window wide open because of the sudden bout of heat passing through the village (Naruto usually dozed off at least three times each session; Hinata pointed out that I took far too much pleasure whacking Naruto awake with a paper fan).

When school started again, it was much the same as before, with the exception of Hinata looking lighter and happier than she had prior to even just the summer holidays. Naruto's presence worked wonders on people, and I'd like to think I had a hand in it too. I hadn't heard of any complaints from Hiashi, and I hadn't seen Neji since that dinner all those months ago, so things were okay at that end as well.

I would've been perfectly content living the rest of my childhood years like this, with two best friends and a place I had really started to think of as home to spend my days, but life wouldn't be life if it didn't go out of its way to throw you a few curveballs.

My curveball came in the form of one gusty autumn day when I had been on my way home from some grocery shopping, alone for once what with Hinata already back at the Hyuuga compound and Naruto preparing dinner at my apartment.

More specifically, it came in the form of a headlong collision with one Uchiha Itachi.


End file.
